{"id":21400,"date":"2026-01-23T15:51:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T20:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/?p=21400"},"modified":"2026-01-23T15:51:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T20:51:38","slug":"winter-storms-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/2026\/01\/23\/winter-storms-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Storms: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Risks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Many areas around the country lose power due to winter storms. As a result, families resort to using risky alternatives for heat and preparing meals making\u00a0January the deadliest month for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas that is produced when fuel is burned. Common sources\u00a0of CO include\u00a0automobiles, wood stoves,\u00a0fireplaces, and\u00a0furnaces.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To keep you and your family safe, place <strong>portable power generators outdoors<\/strong> in a\u00a0well-ventilated\u00a0spot, at least 20 feet\u00a0away\u00a0from\u00a0your\u00a0home. <strong>Do not use<\/strong> grills or camping stoves <strong>inside<\/strong> your home. Make sure to pull cars out of the garage when warming up the engine and install CO detectors on every level of\u00a0your\u00a0home.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you have questions, you can contact the <strong>Blue Ridge Poison\u00a0Center<\/strong> day\u00a0or night at <strong>1-800-222-1222<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many areas around the country lose power due to winter storms. As a result, families resort to using risky alternatives for heat and preparing meals making\u00a0January the deadliest month for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas that is produced when fuel is burned. Common sources\u00a0of CO include\u00a0automobiles, wood stoves,\u00a0fireplaces, and\u00a0furnaces.\u00a0\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":719,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[161,163,162],"class_list":["post-21400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-toxnews","tag-carbon-monoxide-poisoning","tag-generator-safety","tag-winter-storm"],"modified_by":"cassandragabbert","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Winter Storms: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Risks - Environmental Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/2026\/01\/23\/winter-storms-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-risks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Winter Storms: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Risks - Environmental Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many areas around the country lose power due to winter storms. As a result, families resort to using risky alternatives for heat and preparing meals making\u00a0January the deadliest month for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas that is produced when fuel is burned. 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