Facts You Should Know To Protect Your Family

Why do I need a low-level monitor?

The NSI low level monitor senses CO levels as low as 5 ppm (parts per million). Infants, children, elderly, persons with respiratory or heart ailments are provided little or no rotection from deadly CO with standard alarms. Longterm exposure to Low-level CO above 15 ppm can cause illness and even permanent disabilities.

What about the other “detectors” sold at retailers and home centers?

Store-bought detectors don’t alarm until unsafe levels of 70 ppm or higher are present at the unit for 3-1/2 hours! By then it may be too late. Plug-in models don’t always allow for proper placement and don’t work during power outages. The NSI 3000 is battery powered for 24/7 protection.

Why is the NSI 3000 more expensive than the others?

Accurate, low-level CO detection requires more expensive components & quality control. The NSI 3000 CO monitor uses the same technology and sensors as in professional-grade CO analyzers used by contractors, fire departments, and utilities.And NSI’s unique Continuous Scan™ mode lets you know the monitor is operational 24/7!

Avoid Carbon Monoxide Detector Mistakes

In the past five years, 140 people in Minnesota have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. More alarming than that is the fact that 2,635 people had to be treated at the hospital.

Carbon monoxide is the number one source of accidental poisoning and we may be partly to blame. It turns out what you thought you knew about protecting your family from this deadly gas may be all wrong.

False alarms can cloud the best of judgments. Just ask Melissa Grigg. She tossed the carbon monoxide detector she’d received as a gift, unaware of just how much that decision would cost her.

“I will regret forever that I did throw it away and I never replaced it,” she said.

Low Levels A Problem Too

Carbon monoxide killed 17-year-old Andrew Carlson in North Branch, Minn. It unknowingly made others in his family sick.

For every person who has died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Minnesota, 18 more have gotten sick, including Jerold Bretoi and five of his friends. They had no idea they were being poisoned at their cabin.

“My headache was getting worse. It actually started to throb,” said Bretoi.

He was smart enough to connect his sudden headache and flu-like symptoms with the deadly invisible gas.

“I never thought about carbon monoxide until I turned on the light,” he said. “All of the sudden like a big light went off, a big sign went off. Carbon monoxide! Get out!”

Bretoi said the cabin had carbon monoxide alarms, but no one is sure how old they were, or what the carbon monoxide levels were at the time. It’s possible they were not high enough to trigger the alarm.

Investigators do know a broken boiler caused the gas to fill the home. Bretoi’s quick thinking saved everyone in the house. Three of them ended up spending the night in the hospital, but they completely recovered.

“I think there are many more thousands of people that are exposed to low levels and have what I would call as flu-like symptoms for long periods of time that go undetected,” said Steve Klossner, a carbon monoxide specialist with the American Lung Association of Minnesota.

For years, we’ve been told about the importance of having a carbon monoxide detector in our home. But the fact is, we may not be buying the best devices or using them correctly.

Common Mistakes In Placing Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Investigators have found people often place CO detectors next to their furnace, but that often won’t wake you up in the middle of the night. It is recommended that you have at least two detectors. You need one within 25 feet of your furnace, but you should place another one within 10 feet of each bedroom in your home.



Don’t place CO detectors too close to the garage or other gas burning appliances or too close to a window. Those can give you false readings.

Remember carbon monoxide detectors don’t last forever. Overtime they lose their sensitivity. So they should be replaced at least every five to seven years.

How many monitors should I have in my home?

As with smoke detectors, you should have one monitor installed on every level of your home. Even a singlestory home may need two – one at each end.

Where should I place the NSI monitor?

CO is lighter than air.Monitors should be mounted at eye level and no lower. They should be placed in an area with good air circulation. If you have only one monitor it should be placed near the master bedroom. Additional locations include your kitchen, nursery, basement, rooms with fireplaces or gas logs, and near your heating system and/or hot water tank.Your professional installation contractor will determine the best location in your home.

What should I do if my monitor goes off?

Call your CO-Certified contractor at any level below 70 ppm, unless you have symptoms. CO exposure can cause nausea, severe headache, shortness of breath, chest pain, blurred vision, and dizziness. If you experience these symptoms call 911 and leave the house immediately. Above 70ppm, evacuate immediately. If you have symptoms, call 911 from a neighbors house. Call your utility to turn off the equipment until your COCertified contractor can investigate the source of carbon monoxide.

The Night That Changed Everything

Her story begins on a night nearly three years ago. Everyone was in bed by 10:30. Hours later, Grigg tried to walk to the bathroom, but fell and hit her head on the wall. Unable to wake her, Grigg’s husband, Jason, called for help.



“The paramedics were there, and I was unconscious, Jason was delusional, he was not making any sense at all,” Grigg said. “At the time they thought maybe drug overdose, or foul play of some sort. They had no idea what was going on.”

Then the rescue crews started getting sick.

“And then they found Hannah,” Grigg said.

The 3-year-old was gone, overcome by carbon monoxide. A malfunctioning furnace forced the invisible gas to flood their home, filling Hannah’s room first. It was located directly above the furnace.

“For anyone to suffer the loss of a child, you cannot possibly know that feeling unless it has happened to you,” Grigg said.

Different Types of Detectors

There are two kinds of carbon monoxide detectors.

A carbon monoxide alarm warns you when CO reaches dangerously high levels. An alarm is what Minnesota’s new law requires in new construction and next year will require in all homes.

The new UL standard adopted several years ago raised the level of carbon monoxide at which an alarm must sound. This means the levels must reach a more dangerous point before an alarm goes off.

Right now that standard only requires that alarms sound when levels reach 70 parts per million. Carbon monoxide alarms tend to cost less – typically between $10 and $50. These are easy to find in your local hardware or home improvement store.

A carbon monoxide monitor detects low levels of CO – often levels as low as 5ppm to 10ppm. The alarms sound when levels are as low as 25ppm, which experts say can often be the first hint of a problem.

Carbon monoxide monitors are more sensitive. They often keep daily tallies of the levels in your home so they can be more expensive, up to $130. These can be tough to find. The American Lung Association of Minnesota has a link set up where you can order these.

“This is the earliest possible warning for you and your family,” said Robert Moffitt of the American Lung Association of Minnesota as he pointed to a carbon monoxide monitor.

Look for ones with an end of life warning.

“The best carbon monoxide detectors actually tell you when it’s time to throw them away,” said Moffitt.

As for the studies that question how effective carbon monoxide detectors really are, consider what the Grigg family has had to endure.

“They thought I was brain dead and did not want to take the oxygen mask off me because my husband was still in the same room,” said Grigg who, along with her husband and youngest daughter, managed to survive. “The majority of the doctors don’t have a reason as to why we’re still here.”

One possible reason is so her story can help make us all a little safer. For two years, the Grigg family has worked to make Hannah’s life a lasting legacy.

This year new homes in Minnesota are required to have carbon monoxide detectors. Next year, all homes will have to do the same.

But the Griggs ask you not to wait, to instead think of Hannah and what they would give to go back and replace the carbon monoxide detector they threw away.

“That may have saved her and is going to be something that we are going to have to live with the rest of our lives,” said Grigg.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)