Emergency physicians at Cooper University Hospital urge you to keep safety in mind when using fireplaces, gas-fired stoves, space heaters and furnaces as they can be fatal if not used and maintained properly.
Heating systems are a leading source of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, with more than 300 CO-related deaths from home heating appliances reported nationally since 2002, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
To ensure your heating system’s operational safety, the CPSC recommends a yearly professional inspection of chimneys, flues and vents for leakage and blockage by debris, and to make sure they’re not loose or disconnected. Inspection also should include a check of appliances for gas leaks and adequate ventilation.
Carbon monoxide, a by-product of incomplete combustion, is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas with the same density as air. Incidents occur in homes when CO levels rise above their normal 5 to 15 parts per million. At 30 or more parts per million, carbon monoxide can be deadly.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, kerosene and gas space heaters that aren’t vented, leaking chimneys and furnaces, gas water heaters, wood and gas stoves, tobacco smoke and automobile exhaust can elevate carbon monoxide levels in the home. Also, starting your car engine to warm your car parked in an enclosed garage or running an idle car in an attached garage even with the garage doors open can elevate CO levels inside the house, experts say.
Cooper’s Chief of Emergency Medicine Michael E. Chansky, M.D., said that symptoms of elevated levels of CO tend to initially affect indoor pets with higher metabolisms (such as birds). For people, symptoms often occur among household members simultaneously, he said. Symptoms typically improve when away from the CO source – for example, symptoms resolve while at work – and recur when at home.
“It typically will start with headache, vision changes, nausea, vomiting or passing out,” Dr. Chansky said. “At danger levels, or longer periods of exposure, people may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, heart arrhythmias and even death. Proper diagnosis and therapy is vital,” Dr. Chansky said, noting, “The biggest catastrophe is when patients’ early symptoms go undiagnosed or unrecognized, and then they die at home overnight when re-exposed to CO.”
To protect yourself and your family from this invisible killer, the CPSC recommends installing CO alarms in the hallway near bedrooms in each sleeping area.
Also, exercise care in using portable heaters, including space heaters, which are one of the major causes of death in home heating fires. According to the CPSC, there were about 1,900 residential fires associated with portable heaters each year from 2003 through 2005.
To help prevent deaths and injuries from space heaters, the CPSC urges consumers to:
- Place the heater on a level, hard and nonflammable surface (such as ceramic tile floor), not on rugs or carpets, or near bedding or drapes.
- Keep the heater at least 3 feet from bedding, drapes, furniture and other flammable materials.
- Keep children and pets away from space heaters.
- To prevent the risk of fire, NEVER leave a space heater on when you go to sleep, or place a space heater close to any sleeping person. Turn the space heater off if you leave the area.
- Use a space heater that has been tested to the latest safety standards and certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory. These heaters will have the most up-to-date safety features. Older space heaters (manufactured before 1983) may not shut off if oxygen levels fall too low or turn off automatically if tipped over.
- Always make sure the smoke alarms in your home have fresh batteries.