Guest Column
Four short beeps saved their lives
Phyllis Pafumi
Guest Column
Four short beeps saved their lives — twice
It was a lovely Saturday afternoon in April when my husband returned from doing an outside job and asked what I would like to do that day. My only reply was, "Crawl back into bed and take a nap."
It was about 1 p.m., and as I drifted off to sleep, I received a frantic phone call from my son, who is a DJ. He was about to begin a party at a catering hall near our home and needed me to bring black pants for one of his dancers. I stumbled out of bed to deliver the pants, and on my return home, I heard a beeping noise coming from our basement. My husband was in the shower at the time.
To our surprise, the noise was coming from our newly purchased carbon monoxide detector. Thinking that the detector must be faulty or plugged in incorrectly, my husband relocated the detector to another part of the basement. I once again crawled into bed and began to drift off to sleep.
After only 15 minutes, the alarm sounded again. We immediately called 911 and opened all the windows. The Cheesequake Volunteer Fire Department, Old Bridge, was on the scene within minutes, and we were very surprised and frightened when we heard the firemen report to one another the words we will never forget — "We have a reading."
The firemen immediately went into action and aired out our home with a large type of house fan and began to search for the source of the leak. Once they discovered that the problem was coming from our hot water heater, they called PSE&G to come and evaluate the problem. We were given instructions on how to correct our problem, and we proceeded with our day.
The next few days were very overwhelming to us as we pondered the thought of what could have happened to us if we had not had a carbon monoxide detector. We had our chimney cleaned, and we carried on with our lives as usual, informing our families, friends and neighbors of the importance of installing a carbon monoxide detector.
About 2 1/2 months after that incident, I began feeling incredibly fatigued, light-headed, dizzy and depressed. Attributing this to stress and early signs of menopause, I began joking about my symptoms at work. I was also told by people that the coloring in my face appeared more pale than usual and that my face appeared drawn. I also commented to my husband that our 12-pound dog was sleeping more than usual. As the work week came to an end, I was thankful that I had the weekend to recuperate. By this time, my situation had worsened.
At about 6 a.m., I awoke and felt as if I were coming down with the flu and drifted off to sleep. Both my husband and I slept until 10 a.m., which is very unusual for us. Thank goodness we spent the morning outdoors doing chores. I began to feel better and thought I was just tired from a busy work schedule. But, once again, we heard those four beeps coming from our basement. We could hardly believe this was happening, and once again, we called 911.
As those familiar faces from the volunteer fire department pulled up to our home, we thought there must be some sort of mistake. But to our dismay, the firemen were reporting readings almost double the amount they reported the first time. This time an ambulance came to check our oxygen levels and blood pressure. You may ask, as we did, how could this be? We had corrected the problem. Or so we thought.
The men from the Cheesequake Volunteer Fire Department were so helpful, and this time they did not leave our home until PSE&G fully explained our problem to us so that once and for all we could have this resolved.
What we found out could save your life. You see, our house was built more than 40 years ago, and what we have since learned is that chimneys in these older homes had clay/terra cotta liners. With newer, more efficient heating units, these liners are not equipped to handle this type of air flow. When you run your hot water for any long period of time, the heat is supposed to vent out of the chimney. But in the old type of clay liners, which are prone to cracks, when the heat cools, the carbon monoxide is almost trapped in the flue, lies stagnant and proceeds to make its way back into your home.
Needless to say, this has been a learning experience. I feel blessed to be alive to share this information with many others who may be unaware of this danger.
You can’t see or smell carbon monoxide (CO), but at high levels, it can kill a person in minutes. Hundreds of people die accidentally every year from CO poisoning caused by malfunctioning or improperly used fuel-burning appliances. Fetuses, infants, elderly people and those with anemia or a history of heart or respiratory disease can be especially susceptible.
Symptoms of CO poisoning include severe headaches, dizziness, mental confusion, nausea and feeling faint. Low levels can cause shortness of breath, mild nausea and mild headaches and may have longer-term effects on your health. Since many of these symptoms are similar to those of the flu, food poisoning or other illnesses, you may not think that CO poisoning could be the cause.
We always feel that something like this could never happen to us. I urge you to have your chimney checked and to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home immediately. Maybe, just maybe, those four beeps could save your life.
Phyllis Pafumi is a resident of Old Bridge