Carbon monoxide deaths lead to surge in sales

A tragic event last month has sparked a local community to inform others of the dangers surrounding carbon monoxide poisoning and warn businesses to begin mandatory installations of sensors.

On July 16, a woman and her son were found dead in their York County, Pennsylvania home after an accidental case of carbon monoxide poisoning. The investigation is still ongoing, but the case of Nancy Rosenbaum-Hardy, 44, and her son Preston Hardy, 15, has prompted other residents to seek out gas detectors and analysers for their home.

According to a local hardware shop owner, carbon monoxide detectors are one of their slowest sellers, but following the incident has sold a number of analysers to local residents and businesses.

Steven Buffington, deputy director of Permits, Planning and Zoning in York explained to YDR that it usually takes a incident such as this to spark a reaction from people.

“Unfortunately, this is true even in the adoption of codes […] people only think about (the dangers of carbon monoxide) when something happens,” he said.

“Same thing with smoke detectors. If there’s a tragedy, people go out and buy smoke detectors.”

Local business reaction

Especially during the winter, businesses that specialise in burners and other maintenance should be checking on carbon monoxide levels before an incident can occur. Small leaks and issues with heaters, burners and chimneys can easily result in high levels of the poisonous gas.

As the gas is odourless and colourless, it can often be too late for residents to recognise the problem. This is why Ben Stambaugh III, vice president of Gohn & Stambaugh Inc, is urging all maintenance businesses to investigate and test levels while they are in the house.

“Nobody likes to hear they have to put in a new furnace or they have a chimney that’s plugged up and it’s got to be unplugged,” he said.

But he noted that his business would rather have a unhappy customer because of cost rather than have one become ill and die because of exposure to carbon monoxide.

Western Australian family example

Prevention is always key with carbon monoxide and a Western Australian family recent example highlights this in full. The story was told as part of the WA government’s campaign to encourage home owners to get their gas appliances regularly checked and serviced by professionals.

In 2012, the Jandakot family of four were experiencing extreme flu-like symptoms. The doctor believed it was a virus, but the symptoms did not improve with time.

The poisoning became too much one night and they called emergency services. The local fire brigade investigated the home’s gas levels and discovered that the home was “acting like a chamber for carbon monoxide.”

The carbon monoxide was being produced by an old gas heater that hadn’t been properly cleaned and tested by the appropriate authorities.

Testing devices available to industry

For businesses specialising in gas testing or servicing appliances, having the right equipment is vital when public safety is at risk.

Testo have a large variety of gas analysers and detectors that can alert professionals to the presence of carbon monoxide in a home. One particular example is the testo 317-3 Ambient CO Meter, which can detect CO levels down to a very accurate three parts per million (ppm).

Running on just two AAA batteries, the meter has a reaction time of 40 seconds and has an adjustable alarm threshold that goes off when the safe limit is exceeded.

These types of devices are critical not only during the installation process, but also during any servicing of a gas heater. In several states around Australia, there are strict limits on emissions surrounding heaters in the home.