Deadly gas poses risk through heaters, cars

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You can’t see it, hear it, smell it, taste it or touch it, but carbon monoxide gas can be lethal.

“Get a detector, make sure (it’s) maintained,” said Jim Reuther, chief of the Jamestown Fire Department. “… educate the whole family about the difference between a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector.”

If there’s any question of carbon monoxide poisoning, people should call 911, he added.

Calls to the Jamestown Fire Department regarding possible carbon monoxide events have increased every year since 2006, with an especially steep uptick in 2009 following a mass poisoning incident at First Congregational United Church of Christ.

During a regional youth retreat at the church, about 30 people were exposed to carbon monoxide. Five were transported to Minneapolis and treated in a hyperbaric chamber, which speeds up the breakdown of carbon monoxide. Some victims needed oxygen, and some only needed to be checked over.

None of the injuries in the 2009 incident were life-threatening. The church’s minister, the Rev. Susan Lester, reported the problem and dispatchers from the Law Enforcement Center told her to evacuate the building and the Jamestown Ambulance and JFD transported the group to Jamestown Hospital.

Much of Jamestown’s increased awareness of the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning likely stems from that single incident, Reuther said.

In 2006, the JFD responded to seven carbon monoxide calls, with the gas being detected in only one of them. In 2007, there were 15 calls, with carbon monoxide found in seven of them. In 2008, there were again 15 calls, and the gas was detected in five of them.

In 2009 — the year of the accidental poisoning at the church — the number of calls nearly doubled, hitting 29. Carbon monoxide was detected in six of those instances. In 2010, the numbers went up again, all the way to 39, and carbon monoxide was detected 17 times.

The effects of the gas depend on dosage and exposure time.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, low levels of carbon monoxide cause flu-like symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, disorientation and fatigue. Higher levels of the gas, or lengthier exposure, can cause a coma or even kill.

Lester suspected food poisoning when she called 911 in October 2009.

“A lot of people just start out with maybe a headache, a little bit of nausea (and dizziness),” said Sheila Krapp, manager of the emergency department at Jamestown Regional Medical Center. “But as that level goes up in your blood, you get more confusion. You can start vomiting, you can lose consciousness. You can potentially die from that.”

At the church, firefighters found a carbon monoxide concentration of 379 parts per million.

According to Occupational Safety and Health guidelines, concentrations of 400 parts per million are considered life-threatening after only three hours. Concentrations of 800 parts per million cause dizziness, nausea and convulsions within 45 minutes, unconsciousness in two hours and death in two to three hours.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is caused by an incomplete combustion process. Common culprits are furnaces that are broken, don’t burn properly or aren’t vented correctly, a blocked fireplace chimney, a gas-fired appliance, such as a grill or stove, or a motor vehicle.

Using a remote starter and leaving a vehicle in a garage can cause a buildup of carbon monoxide gas, which can then end up in the home, Reuther warned. Wind can blow vented carbon monoxide back into a home. Ice fishermen using gas heaters must be sure to get plenty of fresh air in the ice house, with vents to the outside.

Purchasing a carbon monoxide detector is critical in preventing carbon-monoxide poisonings.

However, people can take other precautions against the gas. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends having a professional check all fuel-burning appliances, furnaces, venting and chimneys once a year. People should never use a gas range, oven or fuel-fired heater to heat a home, and they should never use a grill or let a car run in the garage, even if the garage door is open.

When a carbon monoxide detector goes off, the next step depends on whether people are feeling ill or not, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. If they are not, people should silence the alarm, turn off all appliances and any source of combustion, ventilate the house with fresh air and call a professional to investigate the source of the possible carbon monoxide buildup.

However, if someone is feeling ill, everyone should evacuate, find out how many people are ill and what their symptoms are and then call 911. People should not re-enter the building without the approval of a fire department representative, and a professional should be called to repair the source of the carbon monoxide.

If there is any question, people should call 911, Reuther emphasized.

The First Congregational United Church of Christ corrected the faulty heater that had caused the carbon monoxide leak in 2009.

Jamestown’s building code does not require carbon monoxide detectors, though Reuther strongly recommended getting them.

“Carbon monoxide detectors are just as important as a smoke detector,” he said.

Sun reporter Kari Lucin can be reached at 701-952-8453 or by email at klucin@jamestownsun.com

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