As Furnaces Turn On In Minn., Risk Of CO Poisoning Increases
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Now that furnaces are clicking on around the city, the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is going up.
Just Saturday night, Burnsville firefighters say they got a call to an apartment complex and once there, they detected carbon monoxide in the air. The building was then evacuated.
Ashley Higgins was in the building at the time. She says a firefighter knocked on her door shortly after she put her 8-month-old down for the night.
"Nothing could really go through my head at that point, it was just we gotta get outta here," she said.
Firefighters worked with maintenance and after hovering in the car, baby and mom were able to finish the night off inside.
Because she has electric appliances, Higgins didn't think she needed a carbon monoxide detector. However, Burnville Fire Department Assistant Chief Brian Carlson says there are many sources of carbon monoxide.
"Furnaces, stoves, even charcoal grills can emit carbon monoxide," Carlson said.
Fall is the time of year when the risk goes up, so Carlson says carbon monoxide detectors are important.
"We recommend that they have them on every floor -- ideally in every bedroom," Carlson said.
Bedrooms and basements are great places to start, but Carlson says it's best to have the carbon monoxide detectors in every room.
After buying them, he says read about them.
"Nobody likes to read the inserts but there's a lot of good information and that's how those sensors are built," Carlson said.
That's reading material that may soon be in this mother's hands.
"[I'm] getting a detector. That's my next move," Carlson said.
Carlson says carbon monoxide poisoning is tricky because it has no smell and physical symptoms like fatigue are usually subtle at the onset. That's why detectors are key.
