State counts 42 carbon monoxide deaths in 2024 and wants alarms on every floor

LANSING — November is Carbon Monoxide Safety and Awareness Month, and the state health department says 42 Michiganders died of unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning in 2024.

The Nov. 9 release, from MDHHS, LARA and the State Police, says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed the month. Chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said the gas cannot be seen, tasted or smelled, and that symptoms include headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, confusion and shortness of breath. The 2024 surveillance report, as cited in the release, counted 608 illness cases, including those 42 deaths. State Fire Marshal Tom Hughes said exposure is preventable only if the alarms and the appliances are handled before an emergency. If an alarm sounds, he said, get outside and call 911. Do not look for the source and do not wait to see if the alarm stops.

The release says carbon monoxide comes from burning natural gas, kerosene, gasoline, propane, charcoal, oil and wood. Opening a window does not stop it from building up. Smoke detectors do not warn of it. The prevention list: 10-year lithium alarms on every floor and near sleeping areas; a yearly look at vehicle exhaust; never run a car in a garage even with the door open; a yearly inspection of furnaces and water heaters; never use a grill, generator or gas heater inside, including a basement, tent, garage or camper; do not heat a room with a gas oven; run a portable generator at least 20 feet from an enclosed building, with a long grounded cord.

Who the release says is at higher risk

The department says fetal blood takes up the gas more easily than adult blood, that children breathe faster, and that older adults are more likely to get sick and may be more likely to suffer brain damage. Symptoms get worse the longer the exposure lasts. Those are the release’s risk lines, not a diagnosis. The 608 cases and 42 deaths are 2024 figures, not a count of this November. The photograph is a winter house. It is not an alarm and it is not a generator. Alarms go on every floor and by the bedrooms. A generator stays at least 20 feet away. A car does not idle in a garage. If the alarm sounds, go outside and call 911. The 42 deaths are from 2024. Bagdasarian listed headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, confusion and shortness of breath. Hughes said not to hunt for the source and not to wait to see if the beeping stops. Smoke alarms do not detect this gas. Opening a window does not clear it. Fuel-burning appliances, cars and generators are the sources named. Younger children, older adults and developing babies are the groups the release flags.

Sources:
MDHHS, “Michigan agencies remind residents of carbon monoxide poisoning risks,” Nov. 9, 2026, https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside-mdhhs/newsroom/2026/11/09/2026-co
Photo: jeff wilcox, “Michigan Stadium snow.jpg”, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMichigan_Stadium_snow.jpg

Michigan

Tags: Michigan · Carbon monoxide · MDHHS · Fire marshal · Winter