Fire station CO case tied to propane generator

The Situation

On Sept. 19, 2026, The Review covered a carbon monoxide incident at the East Liverpool Fire Department. A Monday case at central station sent seven people to the hospital, the paper said. Fire Chief Antony Cumo said a propane generator caused the incident. The poisoning happened after someone closed a door that had been opened to provide ventilation, the paper reported.

The Facts

Cumo noted initial reports listed five employees: four firefighters plus one police dispatcher. An off duty dispatcher stopped by with her young daughter, and both were treated, the paper reported. Cumo said they were left off the initial report because of discomfort releasing information about a minor.

Cumo noted CO detectors and smoke detectors have been installed at central station. He said no one knew about the planned outage until power was about to drop.

Business Impact

Dealer guidance, not reported news: Remind customers who run propane generators to stay with the maker's venting steps, and to use working CO alarms. If a CO alarm sounds, get everyone outside into fresh air and call 911.

Train the desk to flag backup power on outage-season calls.

Key Takeaways

• Make generator talk part of every outage-season call.
• You stay ready when backup power is on the account sheet.

Action Steps

1. 1.Ask outage callers if they run a propane generator.
2. 2.Log which accounts use backup power.
3. 3.Brief crews before peak outage weeks.

Competitive Advantage

Dealers who raise backup power early sound ready when the lights go out.