Preventing Fire and Carbon Monoxide Deaths

Oct. 27, 2004 -- -- Nearly 4,000 people will die this year in house fires and hundreds more will die or be poisoned by carbon monoxide before they even know what's happening. And most of these deaths will occur in the next few months, according to "Good Morning America's" Home Improvement Editor Ron Hazelton.

The dangers of carbon monoxide, often called the "silent killer," are even more pronounced in winter, when heaters and idling cars produce the colorless, odorless and poisonous gas.

"Sadly, the season tragedy has already begun with the death of three people in Staten Island, N.Y., from carbon monoxide poisoning at home," Hazelton said. "Investigators found a plastic bag blocking a flue pipe in the house's boiler... and that this might have been the cause that forced carbon monoxide into the apartment while the family slept."

Carbon monoxide is produced by furnaces, water heaters, cooking ranges and idling cars. It is a colorless and odorless gas that cannot be detected by smell, taste or sight. The gas is not only deadly, but deceptive as well, because carbon monoxide poisoning often masquerades as other illnesses.

Each year, 200 people in the United States die from carbon monoxide poisoning, and several thousand more go to the hospital to be treated for it. Dr. Mike Touger, a specialist in treating carbon monoxide poisoning at New York's Jacobi Medical Center, said that there are specific signs of carbon monoxide poisoning that you can look for.

"Red flags would include multiple members of a household all getting similar symptoms at the same time," Touger said. "Or symptoms which are geographically specific, meaning that you feel sick in your home. When you leave your home and go to work you feel somewhat better until you return home, and then the symptoms recur."

Hazelton says the only way to know if there is carbon monoxide in your home is to use a carbon monoxide detector.

There are three types of detectors. One plugs in an outlet in your wall. One is battery operated and there is also one that is wired into your home's electrical system. The hard-wired version is best for a home because if the leak starts in the basement it will set an alarm off there and one upstairs. You'll know about the leak before you feel sick. It's good to think about installing this kind if you're building a new home, Hazelton said. Otherwise, it requires an electrician to install and can cost you several hundred if not a thousand dollars or more. Most people will get the plug-in or battery kind, which are fine and far better than nothing, according to Hazelton. These detectors range in price from $25 to $80.