Fire detection is a necessity for any home or apartment, but a smoke detector is not enough to ensure your safety. Carbon monoxide is a side effect of fire, as flames unleash smoke and toxic fumes throughout your living space once they start. These gases can be every bit as deadly as the fire itself. While smoke detectors are designed to activate once they detect smoke, they will not activate if carbon monoxide occurs under other circumstances.
Oven malfunction, heater malfunction, auto exhaust buildup in the garage and other circumstances can result in carbon monoxide building up in your home. Without smoke, this will not activate a smoke detector. Carbon monoxide is odorless, so you can’t detect it by yourself. Excess exposure leads to unconsciousness and possible death. This is why carbon monoxide detectors are so important.
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a combination of a carbon atom and an oxygen atom. It is a created when carbon burns, forming a gas that is both flammable and toxic. It is less dense than air, so it rises as it spreads through a room. There is no odor and no taste as you breathe it into your lungs. Natural gas companies include odorous gases in their supply so you will detect a gas leak which includes carbon monoxide. Nevertheless, you don’t want to rely on your nose as your only detector.
Carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in your blood, depriving your brain of the oxygen it needs to function. As a result, breathing in carbon monoxide results in disorientation, headaches and eventual unconsciousness.
The longer the brain is deprived of oxygen, the more severe the risks. Brain damage is possible, and death occurs within minutes.
How a Detector Works
A carbon monoxide sensor detects the amount of carbon monoxide in the air. Once the CO level increases, the sensor sends an electrical signal to the alarm, which triggers a siren or noise to alert you of the problem. The sensor itself varies depending on the design. Some sensors rely on a gel that changes color as it absorbs carbon monoxide from the air. Sensors with a silica chip measure electrical resistance, which decreases as carbon monoxide enters the sensor. Electrochemical sensors rely on electrodes dipped in a chemical solution that reacts to CO in the air.
Proper Use of the Detector
Position the detector in the same locations as you have smoke detectors. Place at least one on every level of your home, with one in each bedroom and one near the kitchen. Verify that the detectors have power, and switch the batteries on battery-powered models annually to ensure the batteries don’t run out of juice. Some smoke detectors also detect carbon monoxide, but others don’t. If you’re not sure, get separate carbon monoxide detectors to make sure you’re covered and your house is safe.
Alarm Activation
When an alarm activates, assuming there isn’t a fire, open all your windows to ventilate the home and evacuate the house immediately. Once the home is properly ventilated and air is flowing into it, check for the source of the carbon monoxide. If there appears to be a gas leak, call your utility company right away.
Carbon monoxide detectors are an essential part of any home safety system. Some states require them to be installed in rental units. Many home security systems include both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as a part of their basic package, but you should invest in detectors even if you don’t have a security system in the home.  The addition of carbon monoxide detectors could literally mean the difference between life and death.