Winter Safety Tip

Winter Safety Tip: As winter takes hold across the Midwest your furnace and other heating equipment will be used more often. Purchase a Carbon Monoxide Detector. CO poisoning is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced during the combustion of fossil fuels, including natural gas. Many CO related incidents could be avoided by simply installing a CO detector. In fact as of 2007 Illinois law requires that every home a properly operating CO detector installed within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping.

Those exposed to dangerous levels of CO will experience flu-like symptoms including dizziness, nausea, headache and coughing, irregular heartbeat, and pale skin with cherry red lips.

You can avoid the buildup of dangerous levels of CO in your home by following these guidelines.

• Never run a combustion engine, such as the one found in your car, portable generator, lawn mower or snow blower in enclosed areas.
• Never leave a fuel-burning portable heater unattended while people sleep.
• Never heat you home with your gas range or oven.
• Never burn charcoal inside your home or garage.
• Be sure to open your chimney flue when using your fireplace.
• Have your furnace cleaned and checked by a qualified contractor annually.