Last night we had a late (for the season) Christmas celebration with my in-laws, who had been out of town over the holidays. It was a fun, laid back festivity. My daughters, their beaus, plus my grandson were there as well.
I have had head congestion all week. Feeling under the weather and exhausted by the time the night came to a close, I headed to bed at about 11:15 pm
At around 11:30 pm, the carbon monoxide detector went off. My husband and son were still up in the living room so I yelled out, "What's that noise?" My husband responded that it was the carbon monoxide detector. It was a series of loud blips and then silence and then a series of loud blips again.
I got up as my husband, Paul, was inspecting the unit. Thinking that perhaps the back up batteries were low, Paul replaced them and then plugged the unit back in. The loud blips started again. Ugh!
I said, "Well, we have to call someone." I had no idea who. I started to Google it while slipping on my boots & jacket and insisting everyone exit the house. I stopped to coax our old dog up out of bed and headed out to my SUV. I started it up, my son got the dog in the back seat, and I drove my vehicle across the street.
Meanwhile, Paul had grabbed a past energy bill that contained the number to call if such an event occurred and he was now standing just inside the open garage talking on his cell phone.
A service technician arrived within 15 minutes. I am happy to report that the level of carbon monoxide within our home was zero. I learned many valuable lessons last night and I would like to share them with you.
- Some people (I won't name names) will resist the immediate need to leave the home. You must insist. Do not ignore the reason you have detectors in the first place.
- If you Google who to call in this situation, it will say a qualified technician. Specifically, you should call whoever you pay your gas bill to. The exception to this is if you are experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms (dizziness, vomiting, headache, etc.), then you should call the fire department. Get to fresh air ASAP
- The dog will not appreciate being woken up and put in a cold vehicle for no good reason. He should have a treat afterward to soften his ordeal.
- Finally, an older carbon monoxide detector only last 5-7 years. I did not know this. Most people I have talked to did not know this. In fact, our qualified technician is the only one I have talked to, so far, who did know this. Now you know it too. In August 2009, there was a change that requires carbon monoxide detectors to have an end life. (More info...) Our detector was approximately 12 years old.
Wishing you all a peaceful, alarm free, night's sleep.
With Love, Brenda
