United States: After hurricanes like Milton, we often hear about strong winds and heavy rain, but there’s another danger which is carbon monoxide. This is a gas that can be very harmful and even deadly.
Experts from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission who are already warning people about carbon monoxide, which can come from gas generators that some people use to get power for their homes during and after storms.
It’s important to be careful and stay safe! As mentioned by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, more than 400 people die from CO poisoning every year across the United States, ‘said the CPSC in a statement released before the storms, including Milton, was forecasted to hit Florida.
“Of that total, about 92 are attributed to portable electrical generators,” the agency noted.
As reported by HealthDay, all of those deaths are not necessary. The CPSC urges Floridians in the path of the storm to follow these gas generator safety tips if they lose power:
ALSO never operate the generator within or very close to your home, which includes garages, porches, carports, basement and crawlspaces. CO is an invisible colorless gas and is capable of accumulating and even airing out the house through windows and doors cannot remove it.
Use the generator at least 20 feet from the house while its exhaust should not be pointing directly to the house or any building where a person can access it. If there are any windows, dryer vents, or other building vents, in the path of the generator’s exhaust, close them.
Read your generator’s instructions for rainy and windy weather advice such as “electrical shock hazards in rainy weather, when it may use an NFPA rated non-combible generator tent or may simply say to do it only when there is no more rain. Make sure that your generator stays in a good fixed condition.
A CO safety shut-off feature is now common on many generators; the device shuts down at any given moment if the surrounding CO level is high. “These models could be marketed as compliant with safety standards for portable generators – the PGMA G300-2018 or G300-2023 and UL 2201 – which is predicted to prevent roughly one thousand CO poisoning fatalities each year,” CPSC said.
CO and the smoke alarms keep you and your family safe.
Make sure they are totally powered up with the working batteries at all the times, but especially ahead of the big storms and Interconnected combination smoke and CO alarms are best when one sounds,” the agency said.
A smoke and the CO alarm should be installed on each level of a dwelling and in every bedroom.
If your alarm goes off, please don’t ignore it get outside and call 911.
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