Monitoring Matters: Winter Means an Upswing in Carbon Monoxide Issues

It is important to understand what triggers carbon monoxide alarms so that service companies can effectively service their accounts.
Published: February 5, 2025

It’s that time of the year: the weather is getting colder, snow is here in parts of the country and people are busy firing up furnaces, fireplaces and wall heaters. It’s also the time of year when carbon monoxide alarms will be occurring.

There are a lot of reasons that CO events start to occur, and it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone why. But it is important to understand so that service companies can effectively service accounts that are generating alarm events.

Today, most newer detector heads are incredibly stable when installed correctly. And, the majority of the time, the reason for alarms is that there is CO present in detectable amounts.

What Can Create Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Some of the reasons that can create alarms are mechanical in nature and are things like snow or ice covering a vent or flue or vents that were clogged up because of squirrels storing food for the winter. Alternatively, it can be something as simple as a vehicle that was left running in a garage or a generator left running on the porch.

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Rarely do detectors create a false alarm without a solid cause.

About 15 years ago, I was fortunate enough to have been able to chair The Monitoring Association committee that worked on the TMA CO-01 dispatch standard. At the time, there was a lot of confusion as to what was a reasonable and prudent way to manage CO alarms. The confusion and the misunderstanding were responsible for a fair amount of tragedy and loss.

As part of this work, we analyzed dozens of actual alarm events to come up with procedures that would work and protect people’s lives.

One of the things that happens with CO is that, when you are affected by CO (just like other mind-altering chemicals that cause you not to be able to make rational decisions), your ability to ingest information, process it and make a good choice becomes incredibly compromised.

During the process of updating the standard, when we looked closely at what took place, in almost all the cases, the monitoring center did actually call and speak with the subscriber.

In some cases, they spoke with a subscriber multiple times, warning them of the condition. However, they refused to have first responders come to their aid, and, in many cases, a loss of life occurred.

The result of this work was to craft a procedural standard that defined the workflow in how to manage a CO alarm in a monitoring center.

Managing Carbon Monoxide Alarms

The first part of managing CO alarms is to make sure that the communicator is actually sending an alarm condition. This is different from a trouble or supervisory message, which would be an indicator that something is wrong with the detector or the supervision of it.

In older systems, some did not actually have a CO zone type. So, it had to be converted to one at the central station. The result is to make sure that the system is wired and programmed to send in CO alarms — not to send other types of signals — when the detector reaches an alarm condition.

The procedure was pretty clear and well defined, and it went like this: Upon receipt of this alarm, a call is immediately made to the premises. The main reason for the call is not to verify the event but, rather, to tell the occupants to immediately get out of the home and wait for the fire department. Simple and to the point.

The next step is to dispatch every time, with no exceptions. Yes, this initially could cause some frustration with a subscriber. However, in almost every case, when the fire department did arrive, they found high concentrations of CO present in the home.

Over the last several years, as the newer NFPA standards have been adopted by municipalities, CO is now being addressed in those standards. Most jurisdictions have a dispatch first policy, and then notify the occupants to get out.

Carbon monoxide is serious. In fact, it’s even more serious than fire, in my opinion, because it’s colorless and odorless and causes you to make poor decisions. In the event of a fire, most people’s common sense tells you to get out if the home is actually on fire. Carbon monoxide, by contrast, isn’t as apparent.

Proper Actions Save

Over the years, I have lost track of the hundreds of times that we have heard back that the proper actions saved a family or a loved one, as well as how thankful they were that the fire department was dispatched after all.

Carbon monoxide alarm monitoring is one of the most beneficial services we can offer in our industry. However, like any other life safety service, the codes and standards have to be followed in both the monitoring center and the installation and service.

Most CO detectors have shelf lives and will need to be periodically replaced. Homeowners must be educated about what to expect, and technicians must be trained on the proper installation methods in order to meet the standards.

Lastly, CO detectors must be tested using the manufacturers’ recommended methods to ensure the wiring and programming is correct.

With all this in place, we will save lives, which is one of the reasons I get up in the mornings. Not many professions get to do that every day.

Strategy & Planning Series
Strategy & Planning Series
Strategy & Planning Series
Strategy & Planning Series