Hyannis, MA – HYANNIS A family annoyed by a malfunctioning carbon monoxide detector learned it was working just fine and they were in grave danger from a wood-burning stove, fire officials said.
Residents of a home on Bishop’s Terrace called the Hyannis Fire Department at about 6 p.m. to complain that their carbon monoxide detector kept going off, Hyannis Fire Department Lt. Thomas Kenney said.
He said the residents thought it was a problem with the battery, so they replaced it with a new one but the alarm kept sounding.
The policy is to evacuate when carbon monoxide levels get to 35 parts per million, Kenney said. He said in this home the levels reached 76 parts per million.
Our (detectors) immediately went into alarm for high levels of carbon monoxide, Kenney said. In reality, it was the alarm doing exactly what it was supposed to be doing.
The culprit was the family’s wood-burning stove, most likely the exhaust component, Kenney said. He said the faulty part is still under investigation.
Fire officials evacuated the three adults and one child in the home, extinguished the fire and opened doors and windows, Kenney said.
The family was allowed back in, but they can’t use the wood-burning stove until it’s repaired and inspected by the building and fire departments, he said.
The residents of the home had no ill effects from the carbon monoxide, but the parts per million would have risen if the faulty stove had kept burning wood, Kenney said.
He said anybody installing a new wood stove or replacing an old one needs to acquire a permit to make sure it is inspected for proper installation.
The incident also is a reminder to keep smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in working condition, Kenney said