Park City, UT- The Park City Fire District said it had responded to eight calls related to carbon monoxide between Nov. 26 and the middle of the week, cases that were reported as some of the coldest weather of the settled over the area.
Some of the cases, which were also reported to the Park City Police Department, included:
On Dec. 4 at 4:19 p.m., a carbon monoxide report was filed by someone on Stryker Avenue.
On Dec. 3, a report was made by someone on Crescent Road at 5:36 a.m. The carbon monoxide triggered a detector’s alarm, the Park City Police Department said.
On Nov. 30, a carbon monoxide detector sounded at 2:18 p.m. on the 1000 block of Park Avenue.
On Nov. 29, a detector warned people on the 400 block of Marsac Avenue about the presence of carbon monoxide. The case was reported at 4:11 p.m.
The case on the 400 block of Marsac Avenue was especially notable, with the person inside the residence leaving the premises and calling 911, according to Bob Zanetti, the assistant chief of the Fire District.
Zanetti said a person’s carbon monoxide monitor at the residence showed levels at 141 parts per million. The Fire District found levels at approximately 80 parts per million.
The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission indicates symptoms related to carbon monoxide poisoning worsen when the level remains above 70 parts per million.
The person inside the residence did not suffer carbon monoxide poisoning, Zanetti said. He said the Fire District determined a malfunctioning furnace caused the carbon monoxide in the place.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, fatigue, nausea and dizziness, similar symptoms as the flu. People who suffer high levels of poisoning may suffer vomiting and mental confusion, the Consumer Produce safety Commission says. Carbon monoxide poisoning may be fatal.
“It’s a serious danger. It’s colorless, odorless poisonous gas,” Zanetti said.
He said carbon monoxide cases reported to the Fire District normally involve malfunctioning furnaces, hot-water heaters or ovens.
The Fire District recommends people take precautions to protect themselves from carbon monoxide. They include:
keeping appliances well maintained
not fixing an appliance unless they are trained to do so
not using gasoline-powered tools in enclosed spaces
installing carbon monoxide detectors outside of bedrooms and putting the detectors on each floor of a residence