What to Do If You Suspect Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, According to a Safety Expert
Carbon monoxide (CO) is often referred to as the ‘silent killer’ in the UK because it is colourless, tasteless and odourless, and can be fatal within minutes.
The latest ONS data recorded that there were 28 accidental carbon monoxide poisoning deaths in England and Wales in 2023.
However, there are also 200 non-fatal poisonings, on average, needing hospital admission each year, according to GOV Wales.
These figures provide a reasonable estimate of the scale of the problem. Every life lost to CO poisoning is a life too many. Many fatalities may be preventable with the right education.
Brenig Moore, technical director and health and safety expert at Astutis, discusses the key symptoms of CO poisoning:
“As carbon monoxide goes undetected, there’s no way to spot CO poisoning. Unfortunately, a lot of symptoms mimic common illnesses such as colds and flus, so it’s hard to know exactly what an illness is and what CO poisoning is..
However, typical symptoms include headaches, nausea, dizziness, vertigo, confusion, weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath and sometimes, loss of consciousness. You might not have all of them, you might not have many of them, but if you experience at least one of these, then it’s good to take precautions.”
Brenig discusses exactly what you should do if you suspect that you have carbon monoxide poisoning:
- Get outside
“Get out of the house immediately. This should be the first port of call. Do not linger indoors to figure out how to stop the CO coming through; just get outside as quickly as possible. This is the best possible thing that you can do to try and keep yourself safe.”
- Call 999
“Ring 999 as soon as you’re outside and advise that you suspect CO poisoning. They’ll ask for your symptoms, so remember to tell them everything that you’re experiencing. They may bring some equipment with them to measure the CO levels indoors, to assess whether it’s safe or not. Many people don’t want to ‘waste emergency time,’ but this is life or death, and it’s better to get checked out than not.”
- Don’t go inside
“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been outside, just don’t go back in until you’ve had an all clear by actual professionals. This could be someone within the fire service or a gas safety engineer, but CO will linger around for a long time, so best to have it checked out.”
- Ventilate the premises
“You need to ventilate the property to ensure the CO escapes. However, don’t spend time in the house opening windows and doors; only do it once you’ve escaped the property and the windows can be opened from the outside.”
- Ensure you have checks
“Make sure you have all of your fuel-burning appliances checked before going back into the building. These checks need to be done by a qualified engineer, someone who’s qualified in Gas Safe, OFTEC or HETAS, and they need to check every radiator, stove, chimney, and other appliances.”
Brenig wants to get the education out to households and businesses, as CO poisoning rates have stabilised for the past couple of years, rather than going down.
“With the right bit of education, the annual rates for CO poisoning should be decreasing, but sadly, we haven’t been seeing that. Last year, there were a total of 28 fatalities from accidental CO poisoning, which is 28 too many. In 2022, there were 38 fatalities, but the year before, there were 28 again.
There needs to be a clear indication that there is a constant downwards spiral, and I feel once more and more people know how to spot the symptoms of CO poisoning, and the precautions to take, this number should hopefully get lower and lower each year.”
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