Caledonia Argus

Caledonia woman survives carbon monoxide leak

Posted: 10/15/02

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

The air had grown cold the night of September 29, and Dianne Allen had taken the necessary precautions to keep her Pine Street home warm. Sheíd closed the windows and turned up the heat before heading off to bed, ensuring a cozy nightís sleep. A blaring alarm, rousing her from her slumber just after midnight, ensured she would live to see morning.

The alarm was a carbon monoxide detector, signalling potentially harmful levels of the gas within her home. Allen called 911, and the Caledonia Fire Department rushed to the scene. They verified that there was a gas leak, and advised her to spend the night somewhere else. Personnel from Aquila gas company located the source of the leakñ a pipe connecting the boiler to an outside vent had cracked, and fumes were seeping into the home. Had Allen not been alerted of the carbon monoxide presence by her alarm, the gas would have proven fatal.

ìI got my carbon monoxide detector three years ago when everyone was told to go get one,î Allen said. ìAnd my detector saved my life.î

The events that unfolded in Diane Allenís home on the night of September 29 are not out of the ordinary. Carbon monoxide is present wherever fuel is burned. Common household appliances such as gas stoves, fuel fired furnaces, water heaters, clothes dryers, and ovens produce carbon monoxide. Unless appliances like these are in good working condition, there is a significant potential for a gas leak and, if the area isnít properly vented, the potential for death runs high.

The primary cause of poisoning deaths in the United States is carbon monoxide, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Roughly 200 people each year die from carbon monoxide poisoning, and many of these deaths are preventable, provided a functioning carbon monoxide detector is installed in the home.

Carbon monoxide is not readily perceptible to humans. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Oftentimes a person exposed to high levels of the gas will exhibit flu-like symptomsñ headache, dizziness, nausea, and fatigue. These symptoms, when caused by carbon monoxide, are often mistaken for actual manifestations of the flu, and the carbon monoxide exposure remains undiagnosed.

The essential element in identifying a carbon monoxide leak, then, is a properly working carbon monoxide detector. The detector alerts occupants of a home of a buildup before the gas reaches a dangerous level. Most alarms run between $30 and $50, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that a detector be installed on each floor of a residence or, at a bare minimum, one detector should be placed on each sleeping floor and one in the vicinity of any major gas burning appliances.

It requires a certain amount of time and money to buy and install carbon monoxide detectors, but as Diane Allenís story goes to show, it is well worth the effort.

ìI think the main thing people should realize is that carbon monoxide detectors do save lives,î Allen said. ìIf you donít have one, you should go get one.î

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