How to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — Four Soddy Daisy residents were sent to the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning after a car was accidentally left running in the garage Monday night.

The family didn’t realize they were breathing in the dangerous gas until the next morning, when they saw the car still on.

“This is the first time we have seen this,” Soddy Daisy Fire Chief Mike Guffey said. “I’ve heard some people say that they have seen in other parts of the country these things happening.”

Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless. It clinges to the floor instead of rising to the ceiling like smoke — so you can easily be exposed to the substance without noticing.

If you find out you’ve been subjected to the gas, immediately leave the building.

“You need to get outside and get to fresh air,” Guffey said. “Notify your fire department immediately. What we do is come in and we’ve got to ventilate the house and get all that out of the house.”

After the incident, a family member on Facebook warned of push start ignitions on newer cars.

“It’s a proximity key is what it is, so you have to be at a close enough distance for it to start, to drive it away, but you can leave it running with it on and not have the key in the ignition, so it is very possible to leave it running and have your key on you and be away of the vehicle,” said Heather Wright, the manager of Soddy Daisy’s AutoZone.

Be particularly weary of hybrid cars, which are virtually silent even when using gas.

“Pay attention to what’s on the dash, instead of what you’re thinking your car is doing. Don’t listen for it either, because like you say it’s very quiet. It’s hard to tell that it’s on. Go by what’s on the dash, don’t go by what you’re listening to,” Wright said.

Chief Guffey says always double check that your car is off before going into the house.

“If you don’t, you get what we had down here the other day. You go to bed. You might wake up or you might not,” Guffey said.

Chief Guffey told me if you use any type of carbon-based gas, incuding natural gas, you should have carbon monoxide detectors knee to waist high and at least one on every floor.