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Important
Safety Tip now that Cooler Weather is Coming.
CARBON MONOXIDE
is the killer.
Time to test or Install Carbon Monoxide detectors in your
home. It seems that in recent years it's popularity has made
a comeback. This gas affects human life in a subtle and quiet
way. Carbon Monoxide is a poisonous gas that is virtually
impossible to detect. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless.
The symptoms are often confused with those of the flu, the
common cold, drowsiness or even depression. Many victims later
state that they delayed treatment or investigation due to
the symptom similarities.
Are you a potential victim of Carbon Monoxide? You may be
if you have not had some simple safety checks conducted around
your home. Carbon Monoxide is a by-product of the combustion
of fossil fuels. In your home, this is the exhaust produced
by your Oil Burner or Natural Gas heater. Fumes may also come
from your Water Heater or the Automobile in the garage. The
most obvious cause may be a blocked or defective flue.
A flue is the channel or pipe that is designed to draw all
of the fumes from any appliance up and out of a dwelling safely.
Flues are mechanically sized (most recently by computer for
high efficiency appliances) to allow all of the by-products
of combustion to be drawn up the flue by natural draft. Any
blockage or interference may cause some of the fumes to spill
out of the appliance into your home causing Carbon Monoxide
danger. A blockage may be caused by soot build-up, caused
by lack of maintenance of the flue or the appliance, or an
animals nest being built in the flue during periods of inactivity
or by aging or defective materials used to construct the flue.
Further, Natural Draft flues also depend on combustion air
balance, to allow the proper venting of fumes. It appears
that the efforts of many home-owners to insulate from cold,
hot temperatures and drafts by changing windows and adding
insulation may easily affect the performance of a flue. Without
enough combustion air, the flue may produce insufficient draft
to siphon the dangerous by-product of combustion out of our
homes.
The
trend towards tightening our homes also reduces the amount
of air changes within the dwelling. This also may be a contributing
factor to the recent comeback of Carbon Monoxide danger. In
the past, the percentage of concentration of Carbon Monoxide
found in the average dwelling was naturally lower due to ineffective
insulation. The air seeping in these cracks allowed the air
changes that diluted the concentration of Carbon Monoxide.
Todays high efficient dwellings will allow the occupants
to be exposed to higher concentrations of Carbon Monoxide
for longer periods of time. Since Carbon Monoxide is a cumulative
killer, it's effects remain within our system for a long period
of time. These concentrations add up, day after day. This
means that today, your chances of succumbing to Carbon Monoxide
Poisoning is greater than ever.
The effects of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning may result in the
slow damage to the brain, heart, other organs and tissues.
Oxygen, which is required for life, is transported from the
lungs to all of the body organs through the bloodstream. It
is carried in the blood protein hemoglobin and, unfortunately,
the blood hemoglobin has a greater chemical affinity for Carbon
Monoxide than for Oxygen. This means that when the human body
is exposed to an atmosphere of Carbon Monoxide and Oxygen,
the Carbon Monoxide is first choice of the hemoglobin, thus
causing lack of Oxygen and finally Carbon Monoxide Asphyxiation.
WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THIS DANGER
There is good news for anyone concerned about Carbon Monoxide
Danger within your home or work-place. Installation of a portable,
battery operated Carbon Monoxide detector and alarm will no
doubt save countless lives. This alarm resembles the common
smoke detector that we should all be familiar with in our
own homes and is available in local hardware and home improvement
stores.
Your first line of defense is early warning. Install a Carbon
Monoxide detector in the sleeping area and in the utility
room adjacent to the heating unit. Todays mechanical
code standards require automatic shut down devices on some
heating units when they sense lack of draft or Carbon Monoxide.
Unfortunately, water heaters, oil burners and most older natural
gas units do not have these devices.
Have your heat producing devices inspected annually. This
must include the flue and flue connections. Make sure that
during inspection and servicing, conditions that the units
may be used under are discussed. There have been cases where
a Natural Gas heating system and a Fireplace have been operated
in close proximately independently with no problem, but when
operated simultaneously, they both fight for combustion air,
causing draft and operating problems.
Additionally,
portable fuel heaters also produce Carbon Monoxide. Caution
must always be used when operating these devices. Always open
a window while operating these
un-vented heaters.
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Recalled Defective Heating Units in Homes
The
problem has affected Valley Center and other North County
communities. Gas-fired horizontal forced-air furnaces were
installed in attics and crawl spaces of thousands of homes
built throughout California from 1983 to 1994. Fire officials
are concerned about the possibility of hazards. The furnaces
could potentially start a fire or leak deadly carbon monoxide
into homes this winter due to defects in its manufacture The
furnaces overheat and begin cracking, and then they start
charring the wood that they're mounted on, or begin emitting
carbon monoxide, he said.
Homeowners
need to inspect their furnaces and, if they are faulty the
fire department is recommending that they be replaced. typical
units are 2 feet wide by 2 feet tall by 4 1/2 to 5 feet long
sheet metal boxes. The furnaces contain a gas burner, a heat
exchanger, a fan and controls. All have steel control rods
installed above the burners, according to the Consumer Product
Safety Commission. People can contact Consolidated Industries
Tech Service at (800) 735-1666, Ext. 518. with model and serial
number, if there is any question in trying to determine whether
the furnace is an affected model. San Diego Gas & Electric
Co. can provide a safety inspection (call 800-411-SDEG) and
if they come across the furnaces, they will shut them off.
S.D.E.& G. crews will also advise residents of the recall
and recommends that they contact a licensed contractor to
further inspect the furnaces for damage.
Good
planning includes having knowledge of your community, its
terrain, its roads, the best places to go and places to avoid
in an emergency, what media stations to turn to during a disaster
for information, and many other things.
Making
plans ahead of time can often mean the difference between
tragedy and survival. And, while the VCFPD and other emergency
responders are dedicated to making your life safer, no one
agency or governmental entity can do everything that needs
to be done to protect you in all circumstances.
Don't
delay... start planning today!
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