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After a hurricane, tornado, or other storm interrupts your electricity, powering up a generator can help you get your household back on its feet. Even just a small unit that restarts your fridge runs a few lights, and charges your phones and laptop can feel like a lifesaver.
But because you probably rarely rely on a generator, it’s easy to overlook the basic safety measures that should be routine with such equipment. It’s also easy to get preoccupied with the cleanup work that lies ahead, so you may even be tempted to run a generator in a living space if most of your house is severely water-damaged and can’t be saved.
Don’t ever do that.
Running a generator inside or too close to a living space can lead to death or injury from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning as well as burn injuries resulting from contact with a hot generator. All these happen too often during power outages and storms.
CO Can Kill in 5 Minutes
The greatest danger, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is CO poisoning. Portable generators can produce deadly levels of carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas.
Carbon monoxide can kill you in as little as 5 minutes if the levels are high enough, according to safety guidelines from the National Institutes of Health.
Data from the CPSC show that between 2011 and 2021, at least 770 people in the U.S. died of carbon monoxide poisoning while using portable generators. In 2021 alone, 52 people died in such accidents. And the CPSC says those figures are probably far greater because it’s still collecting data from 2020 and 2021.
To reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, some new portable generators feature a built-in sensor that triggers an automatic shutoff if CO builds up to dangerous levels in an enclosed space. Some also have engines that emit less CO in the first place. Recent test data from CR shows that these safety features are likely to save lives.