We would like to give everyone in the community a big thank you for all the support for the Santa Sleigh this year. We are working on expanding some of the programs we offer through the fire department, so check back here often for updates.
Take the opportunity of the New Year to review your home fire escape plan. Here is a short video clip with some suggestions.
Although the popularity of carbon monoxide (CO) alarms has been growing in recent years, it cannot be assumed that everyone is familiar with the hazards of carbon monoxide poisoning in the home.
Often called the silent killer, carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel are potential sources of carbon monoxide. Vehicles or generators running in an attached garage can also produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
Facts & figures
- The dangers of CO exposure depend on a number of variables, including the victim's health and activity level. Infants, pregnant women, and people with physical conditions that limit their body's ability to use oxygen (i.e. emphysema, asthma, heart disease) can be more severely affected by lower concentrations of CO than healthy adults would be.
- A person can be poisoned by a small amount of CO over a longer period of time or by a large amount of CO over a shorter amount of time.
- In 2005, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 61,100 non-fire CO incidents in which carbon monoxide was found, or an average of seven such calls per hour. The number of incidents increased 18 percent from 51,700 incidents reported in 2003. This increase is most likely due to the increased use of CO detectors, which alert people to the presence of CO.
Here is a fact sheet on the dangers of carbon monoxide.
For more information on CO, and in multiple languages, go to the WAPC website or the Washington State Department of Health’s website (http://www.doh.wa.gov/Topics/weather.htm). Information is also available, through translation, in over 160 languages by calling WAPC.
The WAPC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization with the mission to prevent harm from poisonings. Staffed by specially-trained pharmacists, nurses and poison specialists and backed by physician toxicologist, callers get the expert help they need when they call 1-800-222-1222, 24 hours a day. Poisonings and drug overdoses are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths in Washington State, surpassing motor vehicle crashes.