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You can't see it, smell it, or taste it. If it's there, however, it can kill you.
"I think we've saved as many lives over the last several years with carbon monoxide detectors as we have with smoke detectors," said Logan Fire Department Chief Mark Meaker.
Meaker says carbon monoxide calls increase during the winter months, but he's noticed a lot more calls than usual this winter.
Right now, city codes in Logan require new homes to have carbon monoxide detectors on every floor.
For older homes, though, there are no codes.
Meaker would love to see all older homes have them but says at this point, it's up to the homeowner.
"Regardless of whether you have a new home or an older home, take responsibility for yourself and get a carbon monoxide detector because it will save your life," said Meaker.
"Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless, you can't smell it or taste it," said Logan Fire Marshal Craig Humphries, "so we definitely recommend at least one per home."
Every medical bag in Logan's fire trucks has a carbon monoxide detector.
In the past, medical crews who show up at homes where someone is sick have gotten sick themselves because they didn't know about the carbon monoxide.
Now, it's something they've been trained to look for.
Many hardware stores sell carbon monoxide detectors in the same aisle as smoke detectors. We found several of them at Ridley's Ace Hardware in Hyrum.
John Taylor, who works at the store, said one of his co-workers recently got sick from a carbon monoxide problem at home.
1,500 Americans die and more than 10,000 are injuried each year from accidental exposure to CO. -Journal of the American Medical Association
"It was either his water heater or his furnace that was acting up," Taylor said. "He came into work a couple of times pretty sick. They had a few people check it out and it was pretty bad."
Meaker says one of the most tragic parts of his job is to go to a house where someone died because of carbon monoxide poisoning and finding out they didn't have a detector.
Many are just $20.
"Smoke detectors are very critical," said Meaker, "but so are carbon monoxide detectors."
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
