Madison Issues Warning About Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

First Selectman Fillmore McPherson issued a warning Monday about carbon monoxide poisoning cases related to the use of generators in recent storms.

While the town has experienced no deaths that he knows of, he said, the town did have some cases where carbon monixide backed up in people's basements or homes while a generator was being used during the freak October snowstorm.

"There were a number of carbon monoxide poisoning cases around the state," McPherson said during the selectmen's meeting Monday morning. "People need to be careful about how they set up their generators. Make sure, of course, that it's not in your house. And, if it's outside make sure the exhaust fumes don't end up in the basement."

NBC Connecticut reported that there were at least four carbon monoxide deaths in the wake of the October storm. One woman was trying to heat her house with a charcoal grill. Another had a generator running in the basement of her home. A third died after fumes apparently entered the house from under the eaves of her home. And a fourth, a man, died after a faulty muffler allowed fumes to enter his home, the NBC Connecticut story said.

Here are some portable generator safety tips from the Consumer Product Safety Division.