Fire chief: uncover the vents

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Hudson Fire Chief Jim Frye is warning homeowners to make sure they don’t have exterior furnace vents covered by snow in the wake of last weekend’s storm.

The fire department was called to two homes on Saturday where furnace vents were plugged by snow, causing carbon monoxide to collect inside the houses.

In both cases, a good carbon monoxide alarm detected the gas and alerted the residents to it.

Drifting snow had covered the vents coming through the sides of the houses.

Frye said rooftop vents should be checked, too. The fire chief recommends that people purchase carbon monoxide alarms with digital displays for their residences.

The batteries need to be changed yearly even if the alarms plug into an electrical outlet, he said. The batteries serve as a source of backup power in the event of an electrical outage.

Tags: home and garden, lifestyle, health