In anticipation of stormy weather accompanying the official arrival of winter, Sacramento Fire Department officials urge residents to check their carbon monoxide detectors and make sure they have one on each level of their home.
Often referred to as the silent killer because it is odorless, colorless and lethal, carbon monoxide can be found in gases released when fuels such as charcoal, gasoline, propane, wood, oil and methane burn incompletely. It is one of the leading causes of an unintentional poisoning deaths in the United States, claiming more than 400 lives each year, according to a Fire Department news release.
Residents are advised to check their carbon monoxide detectors monthly to make sure they are functioning properly.
To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, residents also are reminded to:
• Have heating equipment such as fireplaces and wood stoves inspected by a professional each year before using them.
• Make sure when using the fireplace that the flue is fully opened for adequate ventilation.
• Never use a gas or charcoal grill inside a home for any reason.
• Make sure when using a generator that it is outside in a well-ventilated area, away from doors and windows.
• Never warm up a vehicle inside the garage, even if the doors are open. Back the vehicle out into the driveway.
For more information and fire safety tips, go to www.sacfire.org.
– Cathy Locke
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.