Carbon monoxide: the great danger of winter for Breton firefighters!

It makes no noise, feels nothing, cannot be seen and can be fatal… It strikes most often in winter, when temperatures plunge: it is carbon monoxide, this gas which can trap you in your home when you turn on the heating again.

“You can die from CO2 poisoning”

Lieutenant Colonel Jérôme Toullec, head of the Brest center, takes stock of this poison “which often happens in the fall, when heating systems are restarted in homes, and which can happen when a maintenance defect is identified. Heating appliances must be checked regularly: chimney sweeping for stoves or fireplaces, checking by a technician for oil or gas boilers, all to prevent this poor combustion from generating carbon monoxide. An odorless, colorless gas which can very sneakily poison the inhabitants of the home, sometimes during their sleep. You can die from CO2 poisoning.”

Jérôme Toullec, head of the Brest fire station

Credit : CG

Each year, this gas, which diffuses very quickly in the environment, is responsible for around a hundred deaths in France. There are also 1,300 episodes of CO poisoning occurring by accident in the country.

The symptoms are numerous: drowsiness, nausea…

But how do you realize that you are exposed at home? “We know it, continues Lieutenant Colonel Jérôme Toullecby deduction from symptoms that one may experience: drowsiness, nausea and vomiting, or headaches. When you are in the accommodation in question, there are several actions to take: first turn off the heating device in question, ventilate the accommodation, and finally leave the accommodation. For the most serious cases, emergency services must be alerted so that they can come and check with the measuring devices…”

Jérôme Toullec, head of the Brest fire station

Credit : CG

To avoid or prevent any CO2 emissions, there are simple actions to adopt, according to Lieutenant Colonel Jérôme Toullec, such as “equip yourself with a carbon monoxide detector which, like smoke detectors, can be purchased in stores for a few dozen euros.

You need a carbon monoxide detector

We must also remember that the population has ventilation vents in their homes, and that we should not block them, despite sometimes the cold weather which affects us. We sometimes wish to better insulate our home from cold air intakes from the outside, but this should not be done since these ventilation openings allow good breathing of the home and good ventilation, and in particular to evacuate gases linked to a poor combustion. You should avoid blocking your air intakes during the cold autumn-winter period.”

Jérôme Toullec, Brest fire chief.

Credit : CG

Given the relatively mild temperatures, no intervention linked to CO2 poisoning has concerned the Finistère firefighters, but last year, two people died in Brittany. “OWe can sometimes imagine that the Ciaràn storm was a vector of poisonings due to the fact that we suffered power outages, and that we needed to install poorly controlled auxiliary heating before they were put into operation. road, this may indeed be an explanation, according to Jérôme Toullec, head of the Brest center.

Since this week, prevention messages have adorned SDIS Finistère intervention trucks.