Carbon Monoxide Detector Saved Our Lives By crazycol on Aug 22, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

My husband works as a consultant for gas and Utility companies and as such hears about new products when they first come out. We purchased this Kidde Nighthawk Carbon Monoxide Detector 12 years ago. Although they have improved the product so that it has battery backup the ones we have saved our lives

The entire family had been feeling tired and lethargic for several days and couldn't figure out what was going on. We didn't really feel sick just didn't feel like doing anything. My husband and I left the house which was closed up because it was January. We left our oldest son who was 14 home while we took the youngest for a hair cut. While we were at the barber we received a 911 call on our cell phone from our son. We answered the phone and he informed us that he had heard a noise beeping and went to see where it was coming from. When he discovered it was from the Kidde Nighthawk Carbon Monoxide detector he went over to the neighbors and called 911.

Needless to say we forgot about the haircut and headed home immediately. Upon arrival we were met by the local fire department who were going through the house. They determined that the level of carbon monoxide was at 100 times what it would normally be. They told us if we hadn't had the alarm we would have gone to sleep that night and never awakened. The culprit ended up being a blocked exhaust from our furnace.

We were local celebrities after that because the local news channel called. They asked if they could come out and do a story about why carbon monoxide detectors were so important. The local newspaper came out and did a story as well. The kids were celebrities at school because everyone had seen our family on the news and in the paper. As a result of this happening everyone we talked to in the following weeks had gone out and purchased a carbon monoxide detector.