Carbon monoxide is often called the "invisible killer" because you cannot see, taste, or smell the gas.
That's why Sherri Hannan with Safe Kids Fayette County says it's important to take preventative steps to keep your family safe.
"It's very dangerous, and I think it's something that we don't talk about enough," she told LEX 18.
Each year, unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning hospitalizes more than 14,000 Americans and kills more than 400, according to the CDC.
"Because we don't smell it, we can't see it, we feel bad, and again, it's like a million other types of symptoms that we can have," she explained. "Unfortunately, if we go to bed, that can be the worst thing that we do."
Hannan says it comes down to early detection using a carbon monoxide detector.
These devices should be installed on every level of your home, especially around sleeping areas. Test them every month and replace the device following the manufacturer's instructions or every five years.
"Spend the money on a carbon monoxide detector," said Hannan. "They aren't hugely expensive. You can find them at Walmart. But something as simple as that, being in a home, so that it would start to alarm when it started to pick up very small parts per million of carbon monoxide, giving people plenty of time to know something's wrong."
Since 2011, Kentucky law has required carbon monoxide detectors in newly constructed one and two family dwellings, townhomes less than three stories, apartment buildings, dorms, adult and child care facilities and assisted living facilities which contain a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.
