(Boston Globe) A Wayland family returned to their Bayfield Road home in October to an unwelcome surprise: Their newly installed carbon monoxide detector was sounding its alarm.
Firefighters who rushed to the scene found that the air in the home contained 205 parts per million carbon monoxide, a potentially deadly level.
The family suffered no injury or illness from the gas, which firefighters traced to an improperly installed heating unit. But without the detector, they might not have been so lucky.
"If you stay in that long enough, you're not coming down to breakfast," said Fire Chief Robert F. Loomer.
Nine months after a state law required carbon monoxide detectors to be installed in most residences, such calls are becoming more common, according to fire chiefs across Boston's western suburbs. They said they believe the detectors are improving people's health -- and sometimes saving their lives.
From April to December 2006, fire departments statewide fielded 4,737 carbon monoxide calls, according to preliminary state figures. That was a 44 percent increase over the 3,281 calls received in the same period a year before. The state is still tabulating 2006 calls, and the increase is likely to be even larger than 44 percent, said state fire marshal's spokeswoman Jennifer Mieth.
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