Carbon monoxide awareness remains high priority

Two years after launching its Carbon Monoxide Awareness Program, the Sheboygan Falls Fire Department remains committed to informing the public about what is often described as, “the silent killer.”

The department began the program in December 2007, after responding to numerous cases of dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide gas, which is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that can easily go unnoticed.

Without a proper means of detection, the presence of the gas in any unenclosed structure can result in permanent, long-term health problems.

Over the past two years, the Sheboygan Falls Fire Department has donated numerous carbon-monoxide detectors to those who need them most.

“We have been giving out the detectors, when we go on fire calls and find one to be malfunctioning,” Sheboygan Falls Firefighter Robin McCoy said. “We donate them or ask for a small contribution from the home or business owner, depending on the situation.”

The department recently distributed eight carbon-monoxide detectors to the Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice in Sheboygan Falls.

The donation filled a need for the hospice to add carbon monoxide detectors, to comply with a new state mandate.

“We are required to install the detectors under a new state regulation for hospice centers,” Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice Facilities Manager Dave Hansen said. “Since the building was constructed after the regulations were put into place, we had to install the detectors by April 2010.”

The donation was made possible by Poly Vinyl Co., which has been a key supporter of the Sheboygan Falls Fire Department’s Carbon Monoxide Awareness Program since its inception.

“We are very thankful for the generosity of the Sheboygan Falls Fire Department and the businesses and individuals that have supported this program,” Hospice Director of Development and Communication Linda Cates said. “That kind of community support has helped us a great deal, when we’ve needed it most. This donation is an example of that.”

The department developed the program, after responding to a potentially disasterous fire call.

“A couple of years ago, we had a call, where a family with three kids had been experiencing flu-like symptoms, McCoy said. “Their furnace had malfunctioned, and they had been using a gas stove to heat the house.

“It was a very dangerous situation,” he said. “That is when I started to think that we need to do something about this, by educating the public and providing detectors to people in need.”

Signs and symptoms of carbon-monoxide exposure can vary greatly in range.

“Exposure can be slow and steady, or it can be quick and intense,” Sheboygan Falls Fire Department Chief Chris Wesendorf said. “It depends on the source, as well as the level and length of the exposure. Each case is a little bit different.

“We average around 12 or 13 carbon-monoxide related calls every year,” he said.

Symptoms of carbon-monoxide poisoning include: headache, nausea, vomiting and dizziness at low levels, as well as seizures, disorientation, low blood pressure, heart damage, coma and even death at high levels of exposure.

Potentially dangerous carbon-monoxide levels can come from cars, clogged chimneys, corroded or disconnected water heater vent pipes, gas or wood burning fireplaces, cracked or loose furnace heat exchangers, improperly installed kitchen range vent hoods, operating grills indoors or in a garage and portable kerosene or gas space heaters.

“The best way to protect yourself and your family is the use of a carbon-monoxide detector,” McCoy said. “We endorse the Kidde carbon-monoxide alarm with NIGHTHAWK technology and a digital display.”

The unit is available at Evans Department Store in Sheboygan Falls.

Along with Poly Vinyl and Evans, Burkhart-Heisdorf Insurance of Sheboygan and Tom Bigler of TDN Utility Service have been strong supporters of the program over the past two years.

The department is seeking further donations for the detector-distribution program. Members of the department are planning to raise funds for the program at the annual Sheboygan Falls Fire Department Brat Fry, scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 24.

“The fire department is accepting donations for this program,” McCoy said. “All funds collected will be used solely to purchase detectors for low-income families here in Sheboygan Falls.

“If you or someone you know needs a detector and cannot afford one, there is a limited supply available through the fire department for a small donation,” he said.

For more information about the Sheboygan Falls Fire Department Carbon Monoxide Awareness Program, or to make a donation to the program, call the Sheboygan Falls Fire Department at 467-7914.

Donations can be sent to Sheboygan Falls Fire Department Carbon Monoxide Awareness Program; 375 Buffalo St.; Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085.