Life-Saving Home Saf ty Tips (NAPSA)—When temperatures drop, the threat of carbon monoxide infiltrating your homerises, but you can take steps to protect your family. ne | y QOdorless, Colorless, Dangerous An odorless, tasteless, invisible gas that can escape or be emitted from gas furnaces, fireplaces, hot water heaters and gas clothes dryers, carbon monoxide (CO) cannot be detected by humansenses. Each year CO kills more than 2,100 people, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Consumer Products Safety Commission reports approximately 10,000 people annually seek medical attention for unintentional CO poisoning caused by a house-related product. Yet surprisingly, 75 percent of U.S. homes do not have carbon monoxidealarms. Before you seal your house for the season and fire up the furnace, take time to install Kidde Nighthawk carbon monoxide alarms throughout your home. The only way to detect carbon monoxide is to install alarms in the right locations—onevery level of your home and in sleeping areas. Whenselecting a model look for a voice warning feature. Talking combination smoke and CO alarms are available from Kidde and allow you to easily distinguish if CO or smoke has been detected. Experts also recommendselecting an alarm with digital display. This model allows you to see the level of CO as soon as it is present; the peak memory feature lets emergency personnel know how highthelevel was and, therefore, how victims should be treated. If your CO alarm sounds, get your family out of the house immediately and open the windowsto allow the CO to dissipate. Call emergency personnel once you are out of the house. Ready to Fire Up Your Furnace? Before home heating season, a professional should inspect and clean your gas furnace and all fireplaces. A faulty furnace heat exchanger or a clogged chimney can trap carbon monoxide in your home. In addition to guarding against carbon monoxide, double-check yourfire safety equipment. If your smoke alarms are more than 10 years old, consider replacing them. Check to see that you have an alarm for every room in the house. If your smoke alarms do not need to be replaced, take this opportunity to change the batteries in existing equipment. Consider adding fire extinguishers in key rooms—especially in the kitchen, the garage, near upstairs bedroomsand nearfireplaces. Taking a few minutes to prepare now will help ensure your family’s safety. For more information on home fire safety, visit www.kiddeUS.com.
