Detecting Carbon Monoxide

About two weeks ago my sisters and I were pulling out of the driveway and Mom came rushing out.

We could not understand what she was saying,  so I got out of the car and went back in the house and found that our carbon monoxide detector was going off.

I knew that there was probably not a real leak, but there was no way we could leave Mom to figure it out. I had been going to a meeting, and my sisters were taking ice cream to a friend. Given the melt factor, and that they were driving and were going to drop me off, the situation became mine.

The first thing I did was press the Test/Reset button. This did not help. I opened some doors and windows nearby, which is a reasonable thing to do. Less reasonable was trying to search the internet for some alternative to calling 9-1-1. I mean, there probably wasn't really a leak; how could I justify calling emergency services? But there are no alternatives, that is really what you are supposed to do.

Fortunately, they are used to it. The dispatcher did ask if I thought there was a real leak, and I said no, which may only mean that they don't use the sirens, but a crew was going to be there shortly.

Getting my mother out of the house was easy, and my younger sisters were gone, but my older sister suddenly showed up, and we have animals. I told my sister what was going on, leashed up the dogs and had Mom take them in the back yard with her. That only left the cat. I got her carrier, but she had hidden herself under the bed. In a real emergency, she would have been a goner. I concentrated on hoping that it wasn't a real leak.

Yes, we did get a full firetruck with at least four firemen. I know I was stressed out because several people on hearing this story have asked me if they were cute, and I have no idea. I'm sorry, I just had other things on my mind. Nonetheless, they did a very good job.

You have to call 9-1-1, because they are the people who can arrive quickly, take accurate measurements, and then if people do need medical assistance or rescue, they're already there. Perhaps if necessary they would have helped me get the cat.

They checked the room as a whole, then right next to the possible leak sources, the water heater and the furnace (both natural gas). That meant it was just a fault in the detector, but they said at least we had one.

They did let me know that they have detectors with digital readouts, which may say that it is a power issue or device fault, or show a high reading of carbon monoxide, so you have a better idea. This time we went digital.

I must say, I was amazed by how exhausting it was. It didn't take that long, and there wasn't a lot of physical exertion. It was all just worry about the people and animals who were my responsibility, and the missed meeting, and what if we were going to have to replace an expensive appliance. Oddly, the pilot light on the water heater went out Monday morning, and it was the thermal couple and we did have to replace it, so the false alarm was only temporary, but again, no one has been poisoned. Take your victories where you get them.

I know carbon monoxide leaks are rare, but if one happens, I want to know about it. It's worth having the mechanism in place. If your device starts going off, these are the instructions that came with the new device.

1. Operate test/reset button.
2. Call your emergency services (fire department or 9-1-1).
3. Immediately move to fresh air - outdoors or by an open door/window. Do a head count to check that all persons are accounted for. Do not re-enter the premises or move away from the open door or window until emergency services responders have arrived, the premises have been aired out, and your alarm remains in normal condition.

Step 4 is for what to do if after going through steps 1-3, the situation repeats within 24 hours, and that's when you are looking at doing equipment inspections, so it's a bit more involved. I will just say "Do not taunt the carbon monoxide detector."