CO detector alarms an opportunity
William F. Sullivan
Captain
Chelsea (MA) Fire Department
Ian Rogers made the following statements about home CO detectors (Letters to the Editor, Fire Engineering, August 1996):
CO detectors have “created a whole new category of virtually endless false alarms to burden a fire service already strained to its limits by false automatic alarms and abuse of EMS services.”
“Early warning of a CO buildup could save and has saved lives in some cases. But those successful incidents are a very small percentage of the total number of responses to such calls.”
“Even with an intelligent response system in place, we will still experience an unacceptable number of false alarms, especially during those occasional thermal inversions.”
In my experience, a sounding CO detector is usually responding to a CO problem in the house. The source may not be easy to locate and may not be deadly. Usually, the source can be found if a proper examination is made by someone with the required tools and training.
In one instance, a company officer was ready to declare the alarm defective when I arrived on the scene. I instituted a more detailed investigation, and we found high CO readings in a closet. Further investigation showed that the furnace chimney ran alongside the closet; apparently, when the furnace ran, CO would spill into the closet and build up. The flue might have been cracked or porous. Eventually, CO would seep into the bedroom, triggering the alarm in the hall. Was this a case of a defective alarm or a less-than-adequate investigation?
Imagine if it had been declared a defective alarm or a false alarm. Later that night, as the outside temperature dropped, CO would have built up as the furnace tried to keep the house warm. What if someone were sleeping in that bedroom? What if they had died as a result of CO poisoning?
Many fire departments have not yet become proficient in CO investigation, and quite a bit of misinformation is accepted as truth. A number of departments do not have CO detectors but respond to calls for a sounding CO alarm. Can they accurately determine if the alarm is defective?
The first step in reducing nuisance CO alarms is instituting a training course in CO response and investigation.
The second step is a public information campaign. It is not necessary to call the fire department every time an alarm sounds, but people do not know this. This is stated in newer detector instruction manuals, but who reads them? The fire department must inform the public about what a responsible reaction to a sounding CO alarm is.
How many firefighters know where a CO detector should be placed? If it is too close to an appliance, it will sound in response to normal CO spillage from the appliance rather than ambient CO concentrations. All fuel-burning appliances give off CO when warming up, and all unvented fuel-burning appliances give off CO in the interior of the house. A detector that will not sound when properly placed will sound if placed too close to the appliance. This CO source is not a threat to the occupant unless it is sufficient to raise the ambient level and should not result in a fire department response. When we respond to a home for such a call, we must explain to the homeowner the correct location for the detector. If we return to this home again after the detector has been relocated, then we must do a more detailed search for the source of CO. The detector would be sounding for a CO problem in the house and not from being too close to a CO source.
If the occupants are experiencing no symptoms, they should shut down their fuel-burning appliances and ventilate the house. This should solve the immediate problem, the buildup of deadly CO gas. Then the occupants must call the appropriate person to locate the CO source and fix the appliance, the gas or oil company or appliance repair service. This is not the fire department`s function.
If symptoms are present, then it is an emergency and warrants a lights-and-siren response as would a fire or heart attack. If we cannot find this CO source, a data logger should be left in the home. Often, the utility company has a data logger available.
The third step to reducing alarms is training dispatchers to triage CO calls. All are not emergencies and do not need an emergency response. Lights, sirens, and fast or unsafe driving are not called for. If a thermal inversion triggers a rash of CO calls, a trained dispatcher can screen the calls and have them checked out after emergency or fire calls have been handled.
It is reported that 1,500 lives have been saved by CO detectors in the home. This is a significant number. If the result of saving lives is an annoying response, so be it. False phone alarms annoy us, but we respond. Medical assistance calls that are not emergencies annoy us, but we respond. In both cases, sometimes we can make the difference between life and death by responding to all calls.
There is an opportunity in these CO calls. We enter people`s homes and can deliver a fire prevention message that may result in fewer fires. This will save lives–perhaps our own. While doing this, the knowledge we gain of the homes we visit will enable us to make better and safer fireground decisions. The public`s need for us will increase. In a time of downsizing, this is not a bad thing. We will be more in the public eye and as such better able to compete for increasingly scarce public funds.
I suggest that Ian Rogers and anyone who feels as he does about CO alarms contact Pat Coughlin of the International Association of Fire Chiefs–Operation Life Safety. He has created and offers a training course for fire departments that teaches how to respond to CO alarms. The above points, and more, are covered by the course.
Frank C. Montagna
Battalion Chief
City of New York (NY) Fire Department
August issue sets new standard
Although I have always had high expectations for Fire Engineering, the August 1996 issue set a new standard for excellence. The range of topics, depth of coverage, and quality of writing provide working firefighters with information they could use as soon as they put the magazine down.
For example, the discussion of flashover reminded us of how vigilant everyone, from rookie to incident commander, needs to be. It`s encouraging to know that I`m guaranteed to learn how to do my job safer and better every time I pick up an issue.
