By: Chris Gilson, cgilson@cbs4qc.com
It's a silent killer that takes the lives of 2,000 people each year in the U.S.
But, there are ways to keep your family safe from the odorless, deadly gas, carbon monoxide.
Area firefighters were raising awareness about an Illinois law that requires all homes to have a carbon monoxide detector.
A law meant to save lives, but one many folks often overlook.
"We are seeing our call volume go up because of people calling us because those alarms are going off," Rock Island Fire Marshal Jeff Hindman said.
Calls that aren't only keeping emergency crews in the Quad Cities busy, but all around the country.
"In 2010 Department throughout the United States went to over 80,000 calls and 20,000 people went to emergency rooms with poisoning," Director of Education of the Illinois State Fire Marshal Office, Terry Ford said.
So to keep yourself from becoming the next victim, fire crews say the detectors are easy to put in and cost as little as 20 bucks.
"They're easy to install this one you just plug into the wall and it starts monitoring the air around it," Captain Curt Frerichs of the East Moline Fire Department said.
It's a good idea to have one on each floor.
Gigi Lubin of First Alert said now is the time fore homeowners to get the detectors because it's during the colder months that folks are most at risk.
"People trying to save money I mean it's a bad economy so they seal their homes so to save money, but when they do that if you have carbon monoxide in your home it's not going to get out," Gigi Lubin of First Alert said.
An energy saving plan that could cost you your life, IF, you're not careful.
"So you're like trapping it in like a gas chamber," Lubin said.
Fire crews said detectors should be tested once a month and replaced every 5 years. Right now, there isn't a statewide law in Iowa requiring homes to have carbon monoxide detectors.
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