The credit union started handing out the carbon monoxide detectors on Wednesday.
“It is my eventual goal to see that every household in Huber Heights has a working smoke detector and a working carbon monoxide detector,” said Huber Heights Fire Division Chief Mark Ashworth.
Nationwide, an estimated 430 people die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Carbon monoxide poising has been attributed to annual emergency room visits for about 50,000 people in the United States.
The credit union will donate carbon monoxide detectors to fire departments in Dayton, Kettering, Trotwood, Butler Township, Huber Heights, Troy and Sugarcreek Township.
“It’s a total of 681 detectors that we’ve been able to donate after this year and hope to continue to do it,” said Shannon O’Neill, of the Dayton Fire Fighters Credit Union
The carbon monoxide detectors the Huber Heights Fire Division will be installed in homes of people who call and request one or where fire or EMS crews find a family without one during a call.
“We will then reach out to that family and say ‘we would like to install one for you,’ and we do it that way,” Ashworth said.
Daylight saving time starts on Sunday, and firefighters say this is a good time to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
The CDC recommends battery-powered or battery back-up carbon monoxide detectors, and suggest changing the batteries in the detector every six months.
About the Author