In the past decade, people have become more aware of the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in the home. Often called the silent killer, carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel are potential sources of carbon monoxide. Vehicles or generators running in an attached garage can also produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

Facts & figures

• According to the National Safety Council, 400 gas-poisoning deaths occurred in 2000, 300 of them in homes.
• The risk of unintentional CO death is highest for the very old (ages 75 or above).

Safety tips

• Install CO alarms (listed by an independent testing laboratory) inside your home to provide early warning of accumulating CO.
• CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each separate sleeping area.
• After purchasing an alarm, call your local fire department's non-emergency telephone number to find out what number to call if the CO alarm sounds. Post that number by your telephone(s) and make sure everyone in the household knows the difference between the fire emergency and CO emergency numbers (if there is a difference).
• Test CO alarms at least once a month, and replace CO alarms according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Do not run a vehicle, generator, or other fueled engine or motor indoors, even if garage doors are open. Make sure the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle is not covered with snow.
• During and after a snow storm, make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove, and fireplace are clear of snow build-up.
• Have fuel-burning household heating equipment (fireplaces, furnaces, water heaters, wood and coal stoves, space or portable heaters) and chimneys inspected by a professional every year before cold weather sets in.
• When using a fireplace, open the flue for adequate ventilation.
• Open a window slightly whenever using a kerosene or gas heater. (Kerosene heaters are illegal in many states. Always check with local authorities before buying or using one.) Only refuel outside, after the device has cooled.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.
• Only use barbecue grills – which can produce CO – outside. Never use them in the home or garage.
• When purchasing new heating and cooking equipment, select products tested and labeled by an independent testing laboratory.
• When purchasing an existing home, have a qualified technician evaluate the integrity of the heating and cooking systems, as well as the sealed spaces between the garage and house.
• When camping, remember to use battery-powered heaters and flashlights in tents trailers, and motor homes.
• CO alarms are not substitutes for smoke alarms. Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home and in or outside all sleeping areas.
• Know the difference between the sound of the smoke alarms and the sound of the CO alarms.

If your CO alarm sounds

• If it is a battery-powered intermittent alarm, check the battery.
• If it is a steady alarm or you are unable to determine, evacuate the dwelling. Do not re-enter until the responding agency says it is ok.
• Report the CO alarm warning by calling the appropriate phone number.
• Call a qualified technician to inspect all equipment.

Symptoms of CO poisoning

• Severe headache, dizziness, mental confusion, nausea, or faintness. Many of these symptoms are similar to the flu, food poisoning or other illnesses.

Smoking Related Fires

Smoking materials (i.e., cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc.) are the leading cause of fire deaths in the United States. Roughly one of every four fire deaths in 2001 was attributed to smoking materials.

Facts & figures

• In 2001, there were an estimated 31,200 smoking-material fires in structures, 830 civilian deaths, 1,770 civilian injuries and $386 million in property damage. Of the fire deaths, 770 occurred in the home.
• In Canada there were 3,800 fires in 1999 associated with smoking materials. These fires caused 120 civilian deaths, 260 civilian injuries and direct property damage of $58 million Canadian ($39 million U.S.).
• The most common material first ignited in home smoking material-related fires was trash, followed by mattresses and bedding and upholstered furniture.

Source: NFPA's The Smoking-Material Fire Problem, November 2004, by John R. Hall, Jr.

Safety tips

• Encourage smokers to smoke outside.
• Keep smoking materials away from anything that can burn (i.e., mattresses, bedding, upholstered furniture, draperies, etc.).
• Never smoke in bed or when you are drowsy, intoxicated or medicated.
• Use large, deep, non-tip ashtrays to prevent ashes from spilling onto furniture and check them frequently. Do not rest ashtrays on sofas or chairs.
• Completely douse butts and ashes with water before throwing them away as they can smolder in the trash and cause a fire.
• Smoking should not be allowed in a home where oxygen is in use.
• Whenever someone has been smoking in the home, always check on, between and under upholstery and cushions and inside trashcans for butts that may be smoldering.
• When smokers visit your home, ask them to keep smoking materials, lighters and matches with them so young children do not touch them.
• Keep matches and lighters up high, out of children's sight and reach (preferably in a locked cabinet).
• If you smoke, choose fire-safe cigarettes. They are less likely to cause fires.

Candle Safety

Dryer Safety

Cooking Fires

Children Playing with Fire

Children playing with fire cause hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries each year. Preschoolers are most likely to start these fires, typically by playing with matches and lighters, and are most likely to die in them.

Facts & figures*

• In 2002, children playing with fire started an estimated 13,900 structure fires that were reported to U.S. fire departments, causing an estimated 210 civilian deaths, 1,250 civilian injuries and $339 million in direct property damage.
• The figures for 2002 structure fires, civilian deaths and civilian injuries are the lowest ever recorded.
• Most of the people killed in child-playing fires are under 5, and such fires are the leading cause of fire deaths among preschoolers.
• Roughly two out of every three child-playing fires -- and three out of four associated deaths and injuries -- involve matches or lighters.
• The child-playing fire problem has been smaller, relative to population, in Canada and much smaller in Japan.
• Children also start fires by playing with candles, fireworks, stoves and cigarettes.
• Among fatal home fires started by children playing, seven out of 10 involve children igniting bedding, mattresses, upholstered furniture or clothing.
• Just over half of child-playing fires in the home start in a bedroom.
• Children who start fires may be children in crisis, with the fires acting as cries for help from stressful life experiences or abuse, according to studies of fire-setting behavior. 
• As of 2002, deaths in child-playing home structure fires had declined by roughly half since 1994, when the child-resistant lighter standard went into effect.

*From NFPA's Children Playing with Fire, by John R. Hall, Jr.,  March 2005.

Safety tips

• Store matches and lighters out of children's reach and sight, up high, preferably in a locked cabinet.
• Never use lighters or matches as a source of amusement for children. They may imitate what you do.
• If your child expresses curiosity about fire or has been playing with fire, calmly but firmly explain that matches and lighters are tools for adults only.
• Use only lighters designed with child-resistant features. Remember child-resistant does not mean child proof.
• Teach young children to tell an adult if they see matches or lighters, and teach school-age children to bring any matches or lighters to an adult.
• Never leave matches or lighters in a bedroom or any place where children may go without supervision.
• If you suspect your child is intentionally setting fires or unduly fascinated with fire, get help. Your local fire department, school, or community counseling agency can put you in touch with trained experts.