3 Dead - Carbon Monoxide - New Hampshire (2014, houses)
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The news stated that all smoke detectors had batteries removed.
AND
The vent for the furnace was disconnected also.
Are people that dumb? Or was this something else?
The article I read said that it was the carbon monoxide detector which had the batteries removed, and that snow was blocking the vents......? I only read one article though... I'll have to see what else I can find. I think they were still "investigating" when that article was published.
I admit that we, too, have the batteries removed from the CO detector. The problem was that the battery was low and it was making the thing beep non-stop. We removed them with the intention of buying the correct replacement. This story made me take notice. (NO, there are no innocent children living in our death trap of a home, or anything.)
EDIT: The latest is as you stated about the vent being disconnected, and it was venting directly into the house. But it was the CO detector without batteries. Honestly I don't think we can blame them or call them stupid for lack of batteries. There's all this "a life could have been saved for the cost of batteries," but for all we know he just took the batteries out yesterday, or something, for the same reason I did. Or last summer but then forgot to replace them. The article quotes someone who knew the guy, saying, "Considering the type of person he was, I was pretty surprised (to hear there were no batteries in the carbon monoxide detector)."
The vent thing... I don't even know how to explain that. And yeah, if you DO have your furnace venting directly into your house, you'd think you'd be vigilant about keeping a working CO detector. Although they're not making much of that and if it were an intentional thing, I think that would be the main focus of criticism when the battery thing seems to be. Could it somehow have gotten knocked? Would ice and snow affect it? We have an oil burning furnace and a chimney through the middle of the roof, and I don't know about propane systems.
Last edited by cowbell76; 02-19-2014 at 07:59 AM..
I solved my battery replacement laziness with an Amazon.com subscription. Every six months eight 9V batteries show up, and I put them in as soon as I get them. And these are just backup - I have wired detectors. I do not f&&& around with life & fire safety in a wooden house.
I solved my battery replacement laziness with an Amazon.com subscription. Every six months eight 9V batteries show up, and I put them in as soon as I get them. And these are just backup - I have wired detectors. I do not f&&& around with life & fire safety in a wooden house.
Automatic battery subscription is an excellent idea! I know a lot of people use the New Year or day light savings as a trigger event to change their batteries but having new ones show up in the mail is even better.
One article said the pipe had been found to have separated from the vent. Could have occurred naturally due to the cold and ice.
Carbon monoxide is pretty nasty in how quick it can kill you without you even being aware you are in danger.
Now this is going to be off topic but it is a historical factoid and well illustrates how deadly carbon monoxide is and how many people it used to kill not by accident but by choice.
You know the thing about sticking your head in the oven to kill yourself? That comes from the days of the UK from 1900-to the 1970s as well as the US prior to the 1940s and 1950s dinvr was a time when coal gas which contains carbon monoxide was used for cooking. It was very cheap to burn this coal gas and pump it to people's houses, apts hence why it was used. So a lot of people died in accidents because of faulty ovens or they deliberately killed themselves. It only took several minutes and was very painless and became such the preferred method on average 2000 people a year offed themselves in the UK using carbon monoxide by way of coal gas.
In the UK they noticed that the suicide rate dropped by a 1/3 and never recovered after they made the switch to natural gas. Natural gas you could breathe that stuff all day and not die. Trust me I have done this since a friend cleaned the oven after cooking and left a eye on by accident so my house filled with natural gas fumes for an entire day. I had fallen asleep so the buildup of the gas was not noticed and I had gotten acclimatized to the smell. Not noticing it till I left for several hours and returning.
My Carbon Monoxide detectors are plugged into the wall; battery is only for backup.
CO detectors have a limited service life (3-7 years) after which they are ineffective. At end-of-life, some models go into a mode where they just chirps constantly, this is very annoying and happens even with fresh batteries, giving people more incentive to pull the batteries!
If you have wired-in smoke alarms, you can usually add wired-in CO detectors, will still need to replace them every 5 years.
I consider the absence of an open flame to be the only advantage of electric heat and cooking. I am a Navy Vet and learned very well the dangers of fire and smoke in enclosed spaces very well.
Natural gas you could breathe that stuff all day and not die. Trust me I have done this since a friend cleaned the oven after cooking and left a eye on by accident so my house filled with natural gas fumes for an entire day. I had fallen asleep so the buildup of the gas was not noticed and I had gotten acclimatized to the smell. Not noticing it till I left for several hours and returning.
Negative, you CANNOT breathe Natural Gas all day and not die. When your friend left the burner on it left a small amount into the room/house (must have been just open slightly). If it was sufficient enough you would have bought the farm. Trust me, you can easily die from breathing Natural gas. It does take more than people think though.
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