Recognising the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide is not something that most of us think about day to day, either at home or in our professional lives. However, when we do stop and think about it, most of us would associate carbon monoxide with words such as ‘deadly’ or ‘poisonous’ and phrases such as ‘silent killer’. We know it is dangerous, but we also don’t think it will affect us or in particular consider that it is part of a care home’s duty of care to residents, visitors and staff. 

In the early hours of 1 July 2017, 35 residents of an older person’s care home in Edgbaston, Birmingham had to be evacuated due to a carbon monoxide incident. Thankfully, staff raised the alarm and called the emergency services and no one was affected. The West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service stated that the incident involved the back-up batteries in a generator that had deteriorated. 

What this incident illustrates is that the source of carbon monoxide is not just mains gas. It is any carbon based fuel, which includes wood, coal, oil, charcoal, Calor gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and peat. The lack of oxygen in a room means that carbon monoxide can build up, so a blocked flue, cooker hood or chimney, for example, can lead to a build-up due to inadequate ventilation.