Discount Fire Supplies has recently been made aware of the fantastic organisation, CO Angels.
CO Angels was formed to highlight the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning in the home, something the founders know about only too well. Each founder member has lost a loved one to CO poisoning and has experienced the devastation and frustration a death like this brings.
In each case the victim simply went to bed and never woke up. Melissa Matthews’ brother, Tony, was exposed to carbon monoxide through a faulty gas grill, Vicky Courtman’s boyfriend, Bob, died from a build up of carbon monoxide due to poor chimney maintenance and Stacey Rodgers’ 10 year-old son, Dominic, lost his life because this poisonous gas was leaking into his bedroom from next door.
Carbon Monoxide gas is odourless, colourless and tasteless which means you won’t be able to smell, see or taste it.
Could these deaths have been prevented? Quite simply, yes. The installation of a carbon monoxide detector in their homes would have alerted them to the danger and something could have been done before it was too late.
Many people may even suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning without even realising – headaches, dizziness and nausea are all symptoms you can experience if you are exposed to CO and can easily be put down to other illnesses. Severe symptoms include breathlessness, collapsing and loss of consciousness. Quite often the afflicted person’s health improves away from the home where they can breathe uncontaminated air. If you experience any of these symptoms in your home or notice that your family or even pets behave differently away from home you should check your CO levels to make sure you’re safe.
Only a small amount of carbon monoxide can badly affect your health.
CO Angels are now campaigning to make gas detectors a standard installation in every home, just like domestic smoke detectors.
Carbon monoxide alarms constantly monitor the level of gas in the air in your home. They are very sensitive to any change in the composition of the air and will alert you with a loud alarm if the gas concentration reaches dangerous levels.
The alarm emitted is just as loud as your standard fire alarm and will wake even the deepest sleeper. Once the alarm sounds you should evacuate everyone in your home, including pets, and call a Gas Safe registered engineer to check your home for any gas leaks.
Always make sure any engineer you hire to work in your home has the correct identification and qualifications.
Discount Fire Supplies sell a range of domestic carbon monoxide detectors for use in your home. All of our detectors:
- are designed to exceed British Standards
- are portable – so you can take them with you when you move house or go on holiday
- have a massive 85dB alarm
- are fitted with test and reset buttons
- are battery operated (with 1 year or 7 year life options available)
Visit our Carbon Monoxide Detectors page.
Discount Fire Supplies sell a range of fire alarms, fire alarm accessories and much more. Browse our online shop or contact us for a quote today.
