10/28/16
by News Department on 10/28/16Carbon Monoxide poisoning...
WBRE's Haley Bianco reports...
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) -- It's time to turn on the heat. But before you do, you need to take a couple of minutes to make sure you and your family stay safe when you start up the heater or furnace.
"It can kill fairly fast. It can kill you while you're sleeping and you wouldn't even know something was wrong," said Asst. Fire Chief, Jason Whitmier with Good Intent Fire Co. in Pottsville.
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that can only be detected with an alarm. It often enters homes through fuels-- like wood, charcoal, oil and gases... Leaking out when you turn on the heat.
"We see a lot of calls this time of year because everyone's just firing up their heating unit around this time," said Whitmier.
With proper maintenance to furnaces you can protect your family.
Cory Fasnacht has been doing just that for Antz Energy Systems in Shenandoah . Right now he and his co-workers are going to about 20 homes a day checking furnaces and boilers.
"You want them burning clean. If they burn dirty, you could die," he said.
It's recommended that furnaces get serviced at least once a year. But there's warning signs you can look out for, too.
"You'll see black dust on top of the boiler furnace," said Fasnacht.
Or you'll hear loud banging coming from the unit.
Another thing to check for-- black stains on the outside of your chimney or flue. Stains can indicate a blockage that's allowing gas to enter your home.
If there is carbon monoxide in your home, you could suffer flu-like symptoms.
Getting your furnace serviced costs about 130-dollars. And buying a carbon monoxide detector is about 20.
"20-dollars is a low price to pay to save your life," said Whitmier.
An important reminder -- detectors do have an expiration date -- they usually last about 10 years, but do need battery changes about twice a year.
Experts recommend having CO detectors on each floor of your home, including one in each bedroom. And the best rule of thumb - change the batteries in both CO and smoke detectors whenever you change your clocks for daylight savings time - which just happens to be a week from Saturday.
