What Do You Know About This Cold Weather Hazard

As we get closer to Halloween, the days are growing shorter and temperatures cooler. 

Nashville residents are using heaters and fireplaces for the first time since last winter -- and that can pose significant safety hazards.

Are you aware that carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning annually claims over 150 lives in America? It's particularly dangerous because CO is invisible and odorless. Some consumers are exposed to it through faulty heaters that they purchased to get them through the cold weather.

However, heaters are not the only appliances that can leak deadly CO gases into your home. Any fuel-burning appliances, including fireplaces, stoves, water heaters and furnaces, can pose a hazard to your family's health.

The below tips may keep you safer this fall and winter:

• Install battery-operated CO alarms. These should be located near the sleeping quarters of the home.
• Annually inspect and service your heating system. Have the technician check all vents and the chimney as well.
• Only use charcoal grills outside. If it starts to rain on your autumn barbecue, it's never safe to bring the grill into the garage.
• Keep generators running outside only. During winter storms, generators can keep your household warm and cozy. However, they are deadly when used indoors.

If you purchased an improperly designed or manufactured heater that leaks CO and injures or kills a family member, someone should be held liable for those losses and damages. It's possible to hold a company responsible for its safety lapses.

While no amount of money could ever replace the love of a spouse or other family member, reaching a settlement with the liable manufacturer could ease your economic stress at a difficult time.