Winter is finally here and we have seen our first snow. Our homes are sealed up tight, the woodstoves are stoked, and furnaces are running constantly. Unseen and often overlooked is the ever-present danger presented by carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas which is undetectable without special equipment. Your residential carbon monoxide detector is just such a piece of equipment and now is the time to make sure it has a fresh battery and is properly located.

Massachusetts General Law Chapter 148 Section 26F½ requires that a carbon monoxide detector be installed on every habitable level of the home and within 10 feet of each bedroom door.

If your carbon monoxide detector should sound, leave the house and call 911 immediately. The Fire Department will respond with a calibrated meter to search out the source or confirm a malfunction. Remember that carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless and can incapacitate or kill very quickly. Two recent carbon monoxide poisoning events have prompted this reminder. On Dec. 18, nine New Haven, Conn., residents were sickened by CO, and on Dec. 20, three members of a Newburyport, Mass., family narrowly escaped death from fumes caused by an older furnace.

To view more information about carbon monoxide, visit the Harvard Fire Department website at www.harvardfire.com/co.html.

—Town of Harvard Fire Department