Generator safety after a storm: carbon monoxide rules that save lives

Why do generators kill people after storms?

Carbon monoxide. A gasoline generator makes a lot of it, and you cannot see or smell it. CPSC says CO from a portable generator can kill in minutes. CPSC also says an average of about 100 people in the U.S. die each year from CO poisoning from portable generators. CDC puts all CO deaths at more than 500 Americans a year.

The deaths cluster after storms, because that is when people run generators for days and put them where they feel safe from rain and theft: the garage, the porch, the carport. None of those places is outside. After Hurricane Irma in 2017, CDC counted 129 storm-related deaths across Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. Sixteen of them, 12.4 percent, were carbon monoxide poisonings.

The fix is simple and it is the same from every agency. Outside. Twenty feet away. Exhaust pointed away. CO alarms inside. The rest of this page is the detail. Our storm emergency page has the first-48-hours version.

Where should you put the generator?

Outside, far from the house, in open air.

Twenty feet is a minimum, not a target. CPSC says to direct the exhaust away from your home and from any other building someone could enter. Florida DOH says 20 feet and farther if possible. Walk the path the exhaust will take. A generator 20 feet from the back door but 6 feet from a bedroom window is in the wrong place.

Do not solve rain by moving the generator inside. OSHA says keep it dry and never use it in the rain, because its electricity carries the same shock hazard as utility power. CPSC says to run it under an open, canopy-like structure on a dry surface where water cannot pool.

Extension cords or a transfer switch?

There are two safe ways to use a generator. Plug appliances into it with cords, or have an electrician wire it to the house through a transfer switch. There is no third way.

The dangerous shortcut is backfeeding: plugging the generator into a wall outlet or a dryer outlet so it feeds the house wiring. CPSC says never do this. The power runs back out through your meter into the utility lines and can electrocute a line worker or a neighbor. OSHA puts it the same way: never attach a generator directly to a building’s electrical system unless a qualified electrician has installed it with a transfer switch.

If you are running cords, CPSC says use heavy-duty extension cords made for outdoor use, with a wattage rating higher than the total wattage of everything plugged into them. Check the whole length for cuts and make sure the plug still has all three prongs. OSHA adds that cords should be grounded, three-pronged and rated in watts or amps for the job, and that a GFCI matters anywhere the equipment is in or near a wet location. Never touch the generator’s electrical parts when you are wet or standing in water (OSHA).

How do you refuel and store fuel safely?

Turn it off first. CPSC and OSHA both say to shut the generator down and let it cool before refueling, because gasoline spilled on hot engine parts can ignite. That means planning the refuel for a gap, not topping off a running machine at midnight.

Fuel storage is the other half. CPSC says never store generator fuel in the home. Gasoline, propane, kerosene and other flammable liquids belong outside living areas, in properly labeled, non-glass safety containers. Do not store them near a fuel-burning appliance such as a natural gas water heater in a garage, where a pilot light can find the vapor. OSHA says to use approved containers for storing and transporting fuel.

Follow the owner’s manual for oil changes and run time. CPSC says to check that the generator has been properly maintained and to follow its labels and manual, and to ask for a model that shuts off automatically when CO concentrations get high.

Where do CO alarms go?

Every level of the house and outside each sleeping area. CPSC says to install battery-operated CO alarms, or plug-in alarms with battery backup, outside sleeping areas and on each floor of the home, and to test them monthly. Florida DOH says at least one on each level and in each bedroom cluster. CDC says to use a battery-operated or battery-backup CO detector any time you use a generator or anything else that burns fuel.

Battery backup is the point after a storm. The power is out, so a plug-in alarm without a battery is silent. CPSC says interconnected alarms are best, because when one sounds they all sound. Alarms should be certified to a current safety standard such as UL 2034 (CPSC).

When an alarm sounds, CPSC says to get outside immediately and then call 911. Do not open windows and wait to see if it stops. Do not go back in to look for the source.

What are the symptoms, and what do you do?

CO poisoning feels like getting sick, which is why people lie down instead of leaving. CPSC lists the symptoms as headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and confusion. Florida DOH says the signs can resemble the flu or food poisoning, and that children, pregnant people and people with heart conditions are most at risk. In the Miami-Dade cases after Hurricane Irma, the most common symptoms were headache (53.3 percent), dizziness (50.7 percent) and nausea (46.7 percent).

CPSC says that if CO poisoning is suspected, get outside immediately, then call 911. Do not wait to see whether the symptoms pass.

What to do, in order:

1. Get everyone outside right away. CPSC says do not delay.
2. Call 911 if anyone is confused, has collapsed or is not breathing. Florida DOH says to move the person outside first.
3. Call the Florida Poison Information Center at 1-800-222-1222 for any suspected poisoning.
4. Do not go back in until the generator is off and the house has aired out.
5. Florida DOH says to seek medical care promptly, even if you feel better once outside.

What about charcoal, propane and gas stoves?

The rule covers every fuel, not just gasoline. CDC says never use generators, grills, or other gasoline-, propane- or charcoal-burning devices inside the home, garage or carport, or near doors, windows or vents. CPSC says never use charcoal indoors and not to cook on a charcoal grill in a garage even with the door open. Florida DOH adds vehicles, tents and fireplaces to the list of places not to burn charcoal or run a gas grill.

The same goes for heating. CDC says do not heat the home with a gas oven. CPSC says never leave a car running in an attached garage. Camp stoves are for the yard or the driveway, and a propane patio heater is an outdoor appliance no matter how cold the house gets.

If you cook outside, keep the grill away from doors, windows and vents, the same as the generator (CDC). The fumes drift the same way.

Florida: CO alarm law, poison control and storm history

Florida requires CO alarms in newer homes but not older ones. Under Florida Statutes 553.885, every building constructed on or after July 1, 2008, that has a fossil-fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage must have an approved carbon monoxide alarm within 10 feet of each room used for sleeping. The alarm can be hard-wired or battery-powered, or a combination smoke and CO alarm. The statute does not reach older homes unless an addition is built, so if your house predates 2008, buy your own.

The Florida Department of Health repeats the same warnings after every major storm. Its guidance: never run a generator indoors, including garages, basements and crawl spaces; keep it at least 20 feet and farther if possible from doors, windows, vents and air conditioning equipment; and put a battery-powered alarm on each level and in each bedroom cluster. For a poisoning emergency, call the Florida Poison Information Center at 1-800-222-1222, and call 911 if someone has collapsed or is not breathing.

The history is why. In Miami-Dade County alone, a study in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness counted 91 CO poisoning cases and 3 deaths between September 9 and 18, 2017, in the days after Irma. Across Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, CDC’s review of Irma deaths found 16 carbon monoxide poisonings among 129 storm-related deaths, and 123 of those 129 deaths were in Florida.

What else should you watch?

Water and electricity. Floodwater and a generator do not mix. CDC says never to turn power on or off, or use an electrical tool or appliance that is wet, while standing in water. If the storm flooded the yard, wait for it to drain before setting the generator down, and keep cords out of puddles.

Theft and neighbors. If you worry about theft, chain the generator to something outside at the 20-foot mark rather than pulling it into a carport. CPSC asks you to check on neighbors during long outages, especially anyone running a generator for the first time.

The roof. If the generator is running because a storm took part of the roof, see our guides to emergency roof tarping and hurricane damage claims. If floodwater came in, start with flood cleanup, where the same CO rules apply to pumps and pressure washers. More storm guides are on the storm hub.