Source: WFRV News

GREEN BAY, Wi–(WFRV) The Green Bay Fire Department responded to a carbon monoxide call on Saturday evening at 10:42 pm. The home residence, 1600 Farlin Avenue, recorded very high levels of CO.

Five children and two adults were transported to the hospital for CO exposure.

The Green Bay Fire Department says the CO was ventilated from the home.

The fire department says the source of the CO was produced from a generator running in the garage used to supply power for lights and heat.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Proper placement of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector is important, reminds the makers of home-safety and security website HomeSafe.com (http://www.homesafe.com/coalert).

Each fall the sad news of another family that has one or more of its family members perish in their sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning repeats itself.

The real tragedy is that these deaths can be prevented if the family had the chimney checked and/or installed carbon monoxide detectors near the sleeping and living areas within the house.

If you are installing only one carbon monoxide detector, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends it be located near the sleeping area, where it can wake you if you are asleep. Additional detectors on every level and in every bedroom of a home provide extra protection against carbon monoxide poisoning.

Homeowners should remember not to install carbon monoxide detectors directly above or beside fuel-burning appliances, as appliances may emit a small amount of carbon monoxide upon start-up. A detector should not be placed within fifteen feet of heating or cooking appliances or in or near very humid areas such as bathrooms.

When considering where to place a carbon monoxide detector, keep in mind that although carbon monoxide is roughly the same weight as air (carbon monoxide’s specific gravity is 0.9657, as stated by the EPA; the National Resource Council lists the specific gravity of air as one), it may be contained in warm air coming from combustion appliances such as home heating equipment. If this is the case, carbon monoxide will rise with the warmer air.

Installation locations vary by manufacturer. Manufacturers’ recommendations differ to a certain degree based on research conducted with each one’s specific detector. Therefore, make sure to read the provided installation manual for each detector before installing.

For more information about carbon monoxide poisoning prevention and to find top-rated CO detectors for your home, visit the CO ALERT at http://www.homesafe.com/coalert.

With record-breaking heat waves baking much of the country, it seems like an odd time to be thinking about your furnace or it’s chimney, but this is the season to get your furnace chimney checked by a qualified chimney sweep or furnace maintenance company. Failing to do so could cause carbon monoxide poisoning problems in a few short months when the weather turns chilly again.

Why is that?

In the spring many creatures large and small make their homes in fireplace and furnace flues, to nest or have their young in the relative comfort of the cool, quiet, and dark “cave” that is open on the roofs of many homes across the country. These creatures like birds, squirrels, raccoons and bats can bring a mess of nesting materials with them, or create a mess of droppings left behind, potentially clogging the chimney either at the top (with a bird nest) or at the bottom (near the thimble where your furnace connects).

What happens during the summer is that the young have grown, left the chimney, and left behind a potentially deadly situation for the people living in the home.

That nesting material, along with any other mess left behind, can reduce the ability of your chimney to exhaust the deadly carbon monoxide fumes generated from your furnace or non-electric water-heater. (Hint: If your furnace or water-heater uses fuel like natural gas, propane, or oil - then it creates carbon monoxide.)

If the chimney flue is partially blocked, then the odorless but dangerous carbon monoxide can escape into the home. In the worst-cases, the mess left behind may actually block the chimney completely, causing all of the carbon monoxide to dump into the home, possibly building to concentrations high enough to cause death.

Read the Rest…

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children encourages families to “Take 25“, to sit down with your children for just 25 minutes - talking to kids about ways to be safer. On their site you can find educational materials for parents, and tips on how to talk with your kids about these sensitive subjects.

They offer 25 tips to help you get the conversation started, including:

1. Teach your children their full names, address, and home telephone number. Make sure they know your full name.
2. Make sure your children know how to reach you at work or on your cell phone.
3. Teach your children how and when to use 911 and make sure your children have a trusted adult to call if they’re scared or have an emergency.
4. Instruct children to keep the door locked and not to open the door to talk to anyone when they are home alone. Set rules with your children about having visitors over when you’re not home and how to answer the telephone.
5. Choose babysitters with care. Obtain references from family, friends, and neighbors. Once you have chosen the caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask children how the experience with the caregiver was and listen carefully to their responses.

Take 25 was started to commemorate National Missing Children’s Day on May 25th. First proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, the day serves as an annual reminder to the nation to renew efforts to reunite missing children with their families, remember those who are still missing, and make child protection a national priority. It’s a time of reflection and renewed hope for millions of families in communities across the country.

Additional Resources:

• Child Safety Resources for Parents & Guardians
• NetSmartz - Help keep your children safe online.

Take 25 minutes to visit the site right now.

“Mr. Yuk” was conceived in 1971 as the mascot for the poison control center at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The original design was created by Wendy (Courtney) Brown, a grade-school student at a school near Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital.

As part of a contest held by the poison center, Wendy drew the now-familiar face, along with a stick-figure body that was not included in the finished sticker design. Her design won, and Wendy was compensated for her time and talent with a prize: a tape recorder. Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital now owns all exclusive rights to the Mr. Yuk design. It appears on small green stickers that can be affixed to any container of poisonous substance.

The Mr. Yuk stickers are bold and obvious. Mr. Yuk does not include details of the poisonous attributes of the contents. The logo itself is intended to be enough to dissuade children from ingesting the poisons.

You can request a free sheet of Mr. Yuk stickers by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to this address:

Mr. Yuk
Pittsburgh Poison Center 
UPMC
200 Lothrop Street
BIR 010701
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

http://www.chp.edu/CHP/mryuk

There are additional poison-prevention-education materials available at the Mr. Yuk web-store.

Some timely safety advice from Consumer Reports:

Last week’s hospitalization of more than a dozen children in Dallas and the recent deaths of seven Kentucky residents illustrate the real dangers of carbon monoxide.

Keep your family safe with the safety measures below as well as this advice.

Read the rest and see the safety video.

America’s suffering a deep freeze this weekend - and the risk of carbon monoxide related poisoning climbs as people try to stay warm. Much of America is unprepared for such low temperatures, with rarely-used and poorly maintained heating systems, chimneys clogged with debris or birds nests, or dead batteries in their carbon monoxide detectors. Others will try dangerous methods to stay warm, methods like using auxiliary heaters indoors.

According to JAMA, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of poisoning deaths in America. Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless, and cannot be detected by people without the use of carbon monoxide detectors.

Carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion, present whenever fuel is burned. It is produced by common household appliances such as gas or oil furnaces, clothes dryers, water heaters, ovens and ranges. A charcoal grill operating in an enclosed area, a fire burning in a fireplace or a car running in an attached garage also produce carbon monoxide.

How Does Carbon Monoxide Poison?

CO combines with hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying agent in the red blood cells. When oxygen is robbed from the brain and other organs, death can result. In addition, up to 40 percent of survivors of severe CO poisoning develop memory impairment and other serious illnesses.

Many cases of reported carbon monoxide poisoning indicate that victims are aware they are not well but become so disoriented that they are unable to save themselves.

But what do you do and who to you call when your carbon monoxide detector goes into alarm? The manufacturer of First Alert®, the leading brand of carbon monoxide detectors, recommends the following:

If the alarm goes off, turn off appliances, or other sources of combustion at once. Immediately get fresh air into the premises by opening doors and windows. Call a qualified technician and have the problem fixed before restarting appliances. If anyone is experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning: headaches, dizziness, vomiting, call the fire department and immediately move to a location that has fresh air. Do a head count to be sure all persons are accounted for. Do not re-enter the premises until it has been aired out and the problem corrected.

This weekend stay safe, err on the side of caution. Carbon Monoxide Detectors are available at most hardware stores and retailers like WalMart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc. They generally cost between $20 to $40 each - the more expensive ones have a digital readout to give you a real-time and highest-recorded PPM reading.