Generator’s carbon monoxide kills eight in Maryland

A man and his seven children, age 6 to 16, were found dead on Monday in a home in Princess Ann, Maryland.
Police believe the deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. Rodney Todd Sr., 36, and his seven children were found dead inside the locked house and no foul play was suspected. The house had no power and a generator that had run out of fuel was found inside.
While researching to find more information about this tragedy, it was heartbreaking to find so many similar incidents. Carbon monoxide poisoning is without a doubt the silent, cold weather killer.
Always remember:
1)NEVER run a generator indoors. No matter how cold it is, there’s no excuse. It will get you killed along with the rest of your family.
2)Get a CO alarm installed immediately if you don’t have one already. The Kidde Carbon Monoxide Alarm goes for $19.57 in Amazon. Don’t hesitate, your family sure is worth 20 bucks. A smoke detector alone will not work. Get a proper Carbon Monoxide Alarm.

3) Always err on the side of caution when you have any open-flame device. Camping cookers and stoves, propane and kerosene heaters, you always need to make sure you have proper ventilation. When operating unvented heaters crack the window open a couple inches. Personally, I prefer not to run one when sleeping. I’d rather warm up the area and turn it off just before going to sleep, better safe than sorry. Some kerosene heaters and the indoor propane heater Mr. Heater F232000 do have a Low-oxygen safety shut-off feature but this is a second layer of protection and it does NOT replace a dedicated carbon monoxide alarm.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.