Carbon Monoxide Detector Saves Lives in McKinleyville

MCKINLEYVILLE, CA (KIEM) – A Carbon Monoxide Detector is a device that can save your life.

Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. At high levels, it is considered toxic and potentially deadly. If you don’t have an alarm or detector where you live, you could be breathing in the dangerous gas.

Earlier in the week, Arcata Fire responded to a McKinleyville apartment that is under renovation after an alarm detected carbon monoxide levels were far above the acceptable level.

In the apartment upstairs, was an occupant with their child. The gas could spread to that room if there were not a detector. That’s why the fire department encourages residents to have an alarm and make sure it is working.

“You can’t see it, you can’t smell it, and you can’t taste it. So if you have a malfunctioning heater or there’s a generator that’s putting exhaust into the house, you don’t know it. You could go to bed and not wake up the next morning,” said Justin McDonald Arcata Fire Chief.

Residences with fuel burning appliances are required to have carbon monoxide detectors on every floor.