Trouble may be in the winter air

When everybody in the Ewing household woke up one morning nauseated, disoriented and dizzy, their first thought was that they had food poisoning.

Despite feeling sick, Kim Ewing went to work while his wife Tracy checked with a friend who had eaten dinner with the Ewings at their home in Simi Valley. The friend said she was feeling fine, but that the symptoms the family of four and their two houseguests were experiencing sounded like carbon monoxide poisoning.

After a series of calls to the Poison Control Center and their doctor, the Ewings finished the day inside a hyperbaric chamber at UCLA Medical Center, where treatments of pure oxygen revived them.

Nearly 30,000 people annually are afflicted with CO poisoning and 1,000 die, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The near tragedy that touched the Ewings on a cold day in spring 2000 was traced to a malfunctioning furnace, which pumped carbon monoxide into the house as it ran all night. CO is the poisonous, odorless byproduct of fuel as it burns, whether it’s natural gas, propane, wood or charcoal.

“The danger is that you can’t smell or see carbon monoxide,” said Capt. Bill Wick of the Los Angeles Fire Department. “When the weather gets cool and people start using their furnaces, that’s when we see incidents.”

Although problems are sometimes discovered at home sale time by inspectors or the utility company, annual checks of gas appliances are recommended. And residents can further safeguard themselves with properly placed carbon monoxide detectors.

Faulty gas furnaces are the most common cause of home CO poisoning. However, with proper venting and maintenance, instances are rare.

“Typically it comes from a cracked firebox,” said Tom Houlihan of Orange County Appliance Parts in Garden Grove. “Carbon monoxide gets into the vents and blows through the house.”

Occupants may not be aware of a CO problem with the furnace until it’s too late. “It may seem to be running fine, then everybody in the house starts getting the symptoms of CO poisoning,” Wick said. “This is why having your furnace checked once a year is crucial.”

California homes have an advantage over houses in other parts of the country, Houlihan believes. “Our homes are kind of leaky here, because we’re not having to deal with harsh, snowy winters,” he said. “In a home in Kansas, for instance, when there’s a CO problem it’s more of a danger because that house is likely weatherstripped so that it’s as tight as a drum.”

But faulty furnaces aren’t the only cause of home CO poisoning, Wick stressed. “Another problem when it gets cold is that people who have had their gas turned off will sometimes look to other ways of heating the house.”

Using electric space heaters to bring warmth to a room is considered a safe option by the fire department, but some people try other, more dangerous methods.

“It seems like every winter someone will bring a charcoal barbecue inside to warm up the house,” Wick said. Although the burning, smoke-free briquettes may appear to be safe indoors, carbon monoxide is literally flowing from a hot barbecue.

Stoves, ovens and fireplaces are also possible sources for carbon monoxide problems, but they’re not as common.

“People used to open their oven doors and turn them on cold mornings to heat up a kitchen, but doing that can expose the room to carbon monoxide and it also doesn’t heat the room very well,” Wick said. “If a fireplace is having a problem with a blocked flue or a closed damper, the smoke in the house will tell you something is wrong.”

Those living in homes with attached garages, especially with living areas above the garage, must be especially careful that cars and other gasoline-powered engines are not run continually in the garage space.

To ensure a home is safe from CO leakage, the first step is to call the gas company. “We always recommend an annual inspection of your appliances,” said Denise King, a spokesperson for the Southern California Gas Co. “Our technicians will do that free of charge, and they’ll go up to your attic and check out your furnace to make sure the firebox is free of cracks.”

When there is a firebox problem in the furnace or a CO leak from any other appliance, the gas company will “white tag” it, King said. “Gas is shut off to the appliance and it can’t be used until the problem is fixed.”

For homes in the process of being sold, the furnace and other appliances are turned on during the inspection process, but CO problems generally are not checked.

“You can ask specifically for an inspector, the Gas Co., or both to check for CO problems in the furnace, which isn’t a bad idea if the furnace is old,” said June Barlow, vice president and general counsel of the California Assn. of Realtors. “Obviously if a furnace has been shut off because it’s dangerous, its repair or replacement will be subject to negotiation during the sale.”

Another prudent measure is to install carbon monoxide detectors. The small ceiling- or wall-mounted detectors, which look like smoke detectors and cost $10 to $20 each, are either battery-powered or connected to the home’s wiring. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that one be placed in each bedroom.

“A detector is a great prevention tool,” Wick said. “It doesn’t replace the need for appliance maintenance and inspection, but it can help you sleep better at night. Obviously, the odds are it will never be needed. But considering how deadly carbon monoxide can be, it’s a cheap investment in home safety.”

The Ewing family ended up installing detectors in each room of their home -- their new home, that is. They moved shortly after their frightening incident.

“We couldn’t live there after what happened,” Kim Ewing said. “We needed a fresh start, some fresh air.”

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Carbon monoxide poisoning signs

Knowing the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can save a life.

Low-level poisoning causes shortness of breath, mild nausea and headaches.

Moderate-level exposure creates severe headaches, dizziness, confusion, nausea and fainting. Moderate poisoning can be deadly if exposure goes on too long.

If CO poisoning is suspected:

* Open doors and windows immediately, turn off gas appliances and get out of the house.

* Go to the nearest emergency room and tell the physician that CO poisoning is suspected. A blood test can confirm it.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency