CO Detectors and Alarms are Vital!

A Jacksonville apartment complex takes a risky lesson in the importance of CO detectors when a gas leak sends 12 residents to the hospital.

When firefighters received calls that residents of a south side apartment complex were smelling gas, they promptly responded to find that the concentration of carbon monoxide in some of the apartments was 20 times higher than normal. Investigators say it appeared the gas came from a faulty appliance inside one of the apartments!

Some of the affected residents arrived at area hospitals in serious condition, but were released just hours later. This is a happy ending to a very dangerous story, one that may have been prevented with the proper placement of CO alarms.

CO detectors are inexpensive additions that should be installed and maintained in every home and building. You can get a CO detector for just over $30 to prevent dangerous exposure to carbon monoxide.