It’s late summer — storm season — and that means possible power outages. Many use portable generators, but they have to be used properly or there’s a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Bruce Ruck, head of the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, has some advice.
“The portable generator should be kept about 20 to 25 feet from the house and use a very long extension cord to hook it up where it needs to be hooked up to in your home and this way the fumes and the gas does not seep into the house,” he said.
Ruck said there is an easy way to protect yourself from this.
“Everybody should have a carbon monoxide detector in their home, they’re portable, you should plug them in and they’re battery operated with backup so you should definitely be using one of them and that will hopefully tell you if you have a carbon monoxide leak in your home,” he said.
And if you do suspect poisoning, Ruck said act fast. Get outside and then “give the gas company a call or the fire department and have them come out and check to make sure if there’s a leak or no leak,” he said. “If you have any symptoms at all call us at the poison center at 800-222-1222."