Carbon monoxide - WKTV Journal

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Food can last up to fours in a refrigerator that has no power. (pxhere.com)

This past weekend’s high winds that left thousands without power had the Kent County Health Department offering up tips on maintaining proper food safety and generator safety.

According to the Health Department, if properly prepared, most families could deal with the inconvenience of a few hours or even a couple of days without power. Having no power, means that most homes would be without refrigeration, running water and sanitary services. Depending on the season, homes may also not have heat.

The biggest reminder, which also came from Consumers Energy, is to never touch a down power line. If you are uncertain if the line down is a power line, call emergency services for help and treat it like a down power line.

Generators

Those who can will turn to generators to help power the home should remember not to operate a generator indoors as it does produce carbon monoxide, which can kill in minutes.

Because a generator can create 100 times more carbon monoxide gas than a car exhaust, extensive studies have been done into how far a generator should be placed from the home. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of the non-fatal carbon monoxide poisonings reported during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons involved generators that were seven feet from the home. While it is recommended that generators be at least 15 feet at the home, studies have determined that may not be far enough as carbon monoxide will still enter the home. A generator should be placed as far away from the home as possible and away from any doors or windows.

To help check carbon monoxide levels in a home, make sure that the home’s carbon monoxide detector has been checked and is working properly.

Refrigeration

Food will last up to four hours in a refrigerator and up to 24 hours in a half filled freezer and 40 hours for a full freezer. So if the power is out for a couple of hours, the food in the freezer will be safe to eat, according to the Health Department.

While the power is out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to keep the food cold longer. If possible, have frozen ice packs ready in case you need to move food from the refrigerator to a cooler to keep it safe.

Refrigerated food needs to be at a temperature of 40 degrees or less and frozen food should be between 0 and -10 degrees. Keeping a thermometer in the refrigerator and freezer at all times to help you determine what the temperature of the unit is and if the food is safe. As always “when in doubt, throw it out,” according to the Health Department.

The Kent County Health Department has guide sheets on how to prepare a disaster supply kit with food and other general supplies along with tip sheets on other emergencies such as flooding, water safety, and preventing the spread of flu in the home.

Joseph Cramer, a/k/a the Wyoming Riddler

By Victoria Mullen, WKTV VOICES

For 33 years, Joseph Cramer sent area residents on mind-bending treasure hunts. Not for the short on patience, each hunt began with a nebulous riddle and ended with a prize: a silver medallion from Cramer’s vast collection.

One riddle went like this: Riding my bicycle fast enough to almost soar; seeing plastic shredding from my shoelaces. I think not but doggone. I stop at the first just for safety’s sake. There you go. It’s there.

Yup. That’s it. But there was a method to this madness — a curious combination of silver and carbon monoxide.

First, the silver: Cramer grew up idolizing the Lone Ranger, who was all about silver. (Think: silver bullets. Even his horse was named Silver.) So, Cramer began collecting silver. To this day, he prefers it to gold.

But it was exposure to carbon monoxide in an industrial accident in the late 1970s that changed Cramer’s life forever and put him on the path to creating riddles. The poison affected Cramer’s memory, and he didn’t know who he was. He also lost his social skills.

“It caused amnesia for two years,” said Cramer. “I was scared. I didn’t know what to do. And I had no feelings. And then in 1980, I started to come out of it but I was confused. I thought in very strange ways. It was difficult.”

A friend suggested that Cramer create riddles that mirrored his thoughts. He did, and in this way, exercised his mind. The process helped him recover. It took months, years to get his memory back.

“The riddle is a fun way for people by chance or by intent to learn about carbon monoxide poisoning and what it can do,” said Cramer, who became known as ‘The Wyoming Riddler’. “I’ve never wanted anybody or their family to go through what my family and I did. And it brought me out of my shell.”

The riddles were designed to be difficult. And what better way to reward a hardworking riddle-solver than with a silver medallion?

But how could Cramer possibly foresee the immense popularity of his riddle-making? Well, he couldn’t. From a mere few folks at first, to hundreds of people from across the globe requesting riddles, the venture took on a huge life of its own.

But still, what remained at the heart of the matter was Cramer’s wish to warn people about carbon monoxide poisoning.

Ken DeHart listens as the Wyoming Riddler reveals his secrets on March 17 with WKTV VOICES

“When I talk about carbon monoxide poisoning, I want each and every person to get a little bit of an idea what it was like for me not to have any past,” said Cramer. “Without a past, you can’t create a future. And these riddles — nobody’s ever read anything like that before, so they didn’t have anything to go by. And so I kind of brought them in a little bit.”

Listen to Cramer’s entire conversation here.

VOICES, a personal and family history project collects, preserves, and shares the narratives and memories of West Michigan people from all backgrounds, beliefs and experiences. It’s absolutely free. The only cost is your time and your story, whatever that may be. VOICES offers a comfortable portable video recording studio within a relaxed atmosphere.

Know a few people who’d like to share their personal or family stories and experiences at your location? VOICES will come to you! VOICES is the perfect vehicle for collecting stories from retirement communities, schools or similar organizations where people are motivated and interested in preserving their memories for posterity.

It’s a great way to commemorate significant milestones, enrich relationships, and connect with people who are important to your organization.

To learn more, call 616.261.5700 and ask for VOICES, or email Victoria at victoria@wktv.org .

To reserve a time to share your memories, go here .