Carbon Monoxide: The Silent Killer

Carbon monoxide is called the “silent killer”. It’s colorless, tasteless, and odorless.

Belia Camargo sensed something was wrong when her daughter and granddaughter began feeling sick. “They were vomiting and had headaches,” Belia said.

The culprit: carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, caused by a malfunctioning heater in her daughter’s Lower Valley home. “In my daughter’s arteries the carbon monoxide level was 11.5 and my granddaughter’s was at 5.9,” said Belia.

While they were very lucky, CO poisoning can be lethal. “Moderate exposure to carbon monoxide is the headaches, the dizziness, the nausea, and flu-like symptoms,” said John Concha of the El Paso Fire Department.

EPFD officials add the lack of a fever is a telltale sign, and stress the importance of having your heating system checked on a regular basis if it is powered by natural gas.

Concha says using an appliance improperly can also cause CO poisoning, like using a kitchen stove for heating. “We’ve had cases where people will bring in a charcoal grill inside their homes,” he said.

In addition, Concha strongly urges people who have gas-powered furnaces or heaters to have them checked by qualified personnel, and to purchase a carbon monoxide detector.

Belia agrees, saying, “people should have their heaters checked so this won’t happen to them.”