How to prepare for dangers that could emerge during a power outage

LAKELAND, Minn. – Xcel Energy says its crews are ready to help if families lose power during this mid-week storm.

It's a risk with any severe storm, so it's important to be prepared. When the power goes out, other dangers emerge.

On Monday, a welfare check led Washington County Sheriff's deputies to a home in Lakeland where they found a generator in the garage and the homeowners unconscious inside from carbon monoxide poisoning.

"They pushed open that service door and he could smell exhaust coming from inside the garage," said Washington County Sheriff's Sgt. Tyler Martin.

The man, 71, and woman, 69, were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

"Because of the actions of our deputies we were able to get those people out of the house safely," Martin said.

When Lower St. Croix Valley Fire arrived, Chief Jim Stanley said they didn't find a carbon monoxide detector, which would have alerted them well before the air turned toxic.

"We're estimating that it was 400 ppm in the house when they started having trouble, and that can be fatal in a couple hours," Stanley said.  

He says generators should only be used outside with the exhaust pointing away from the home.

"If you do have a household generator, you need to have a disconnect switch," Stanley said.

Xcel Energy has an outage checklist to stay safe during a power outage:

• 1-2 hours: Turn on a single light to be alerted when power is restored and check the status of your outage.

• 2-4 hours: Use food safety by keeping the doors of your refrigerator and freezer shut as much as possible as this will help maintain the cold temperature.

• 4-8 hours: Think about how you'll keep your mobile device charged. A laptop or car charger can help. Coffee shops and community centers are also good places to charge devices.

• 8-12 hours: Food in your refrigerator after eight hours begins to spoil and may no longer be safe, so you should pack food into a cooler surrounded by ice.

• 12+ hours: Check on elderly and vulnerable neighbors if your outage is lasting longer than 12 hours.

"If your power's out, most likely your neighbor's is out as well. Go on and check in on them, make sure they have everything, and working together to survive," Martin said.

Xcel Energy also urges people to stay away from downed power lines because you never know if it's still energized. That goes for driving over them, too.