Chanukah
is a time when we recognize the miracles that Hashem has done for us both thousands
of years ago and in our lives today –
bayamim hahem bazman hazeh. As I sit by the last of the burning Chanukah candles,
I express thanks and wonder at the open miracle our family recently
experienced.
Early Shemini
Atzeres morning, I awoke to a loud alarm. My first thought was, “Ugh, I can’t
believe he forgot to shut off his alarm!” As the shrill sound continued, I
realized this was not someone’s alarm clock. This was the sound of an urgent
appeal to get up and get out; but where was it coming from? I followed the
sound to my son’s bedroom, where the carbon monoxide detector was randomly
plugged in. I made a joke that the alarm was going off from the toxic waste
hidden in the recesses of a boy’s room. All jokes aside, this alarm was too
loud to sleep through and all I wanted to do was sleep! I threw a blanket and
pillow at it in an attempt to muffle the sound and announced that I’m going
back to bed. It had been an exhausting few days of marathon cooking; our Yom
Tov plans changed last minute since my son tested positive for COVID.
As I lay in bed,
my teenage son urged me to heed the alarm, pleading that we should all leave
the house. To assuage his fears, I went down to the oven and stove to check if
all was in order. The burner was still lit and the oven was set to Sabbath mode
and was still on. I leave the oven on every Yom Tov, so why would this time be
different?
The alarm would not
stop. So out of an abundance of caution, while internally preparing to be
embarrassed for a false alarm, I dialed the fire department with a shinui. Huddled together in our blankets
and pajamas, we waited outside on our front porch. The firemen pulled up, and
we apologized for bothering them for “just an alarm.” They went inside with
their fancy meters and quickly came back out to report that the levels of
carbon monoxide in the house were more than double the safe amount. When they
measured the output from the stove, the reading skyrocketed. They disconnected
the stove and oven, opened all the windows and doors, and waited until the
levels went down.
All the while, we
waited outside the house as it was unsafe to be indoors. The fireman walked
outside with the nefarious alarm and said, “You guys are extremely lucky.
Alarms have a life of seven to ten years. After that, they need to be replaced
because they just stop working. This alarm was manufactured in 2004! It’s a
miracle that this thing went off! It makes no sense.”
We also learned
that the CO detector in the kitchen was obsolete and was not working. If a CO
alarm comes in contact with smoke or grease (i.e. kitchen!) the sensor becomes
obstructed and will not detect gas. The other alarm was in the basement next
to the outlet; someone must have unplugged it to use the outlet and never
replaced the detector. The fireman informed us that, unlike smoke which rises,
CO falls first, which is why it’s important to keep the detectors low to the
ground. We listened shamefacedly while he told us that our community has the
highest rate of calls for carbon monoxide detectors alarming and,
unfortunately, CO poisoning, whenever we have a Yom Tov.
I don’t know why I
called and didn’t just go back to sleep. I don’t know why that alarm went off
when, kederech hateva, it was
supposed to be dead a decade ago. I’m grateful for neighbors who helped us cook
and warm food over Yom Tov. And boy am I grateful to have a working and safe
oven again after close to 10 days without one! (P.S. It needed a new igniter).
Most importantly, I’m grateful to Hakadosh
Baruch Hu for granting our family life when the silent killer of carbon
monoxide was filling our home while we slept. Hodu leHashem ki tov ki le’olam chasdo!
Going forward, we
now have three working CO detectors in our home, one on each floor of the house, placed according to the instruction
manual. I also will be thinking twice before leaving on an oven or burner over
a two- to three-day Yom Tov. I also crack a window open in my kitchen when I’m
cooking and baking for hours at a time on erev
Shabbos or erev Yom Tov to keep the
air circulating.
Sidebar or box
Carbon Monoxide
Facts
Carbon monoxide or
CO is a colorless and odorless gas. CO poisoning can occur when a fuel-burning
appliance or machine, such as a furnace, heater, or generator is not working or
not vented properly. Breathing in CO at high levels can be fatal. To protect
your family:
·
Install and maintain CO alarms
inside your home to provide early warning of CO.
·
Install CO alarms in a central
location outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of your home.
·
Use portable generators outdoors in
well-ventilated areas away from all doors, windows and vents.
·
Make sure vents for the dryer,
furnace, stove and fireplace are clear of snow and other debris
