Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Heating & Cooling Equipment · CPSC Code 712
Down 26% over 5 years
The verdict
Carbon Monoxide Detectors carry a danger score of 33/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 3,845 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 26% over the last five years.
- 33/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 3,845
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.2%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 712 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 33/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for carbon monoxide detectors - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume3,845 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.2%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-26%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Carbon Monoxide Detectors (CPSC product code 712, in the Home Heating & Cooling Equipment category) generate an estimated 3,845 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 76,909 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 33/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 26% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2011 (5,664 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2013 (2,078 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for carbon monoxide detectors is anoxia to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 74,491 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by other to the all parts body (628 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 14,202 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 3.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 44 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how carbon monoxide detectors fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 7,238 | 5,999 | |
| 5-14 | 6,942 | 7,260 | |
| 15-24 | 3,078 | 7,342 | |
| 25-34 | 3,293 | 9,655 | |
| 35-44 | 2,735 | 5,641 | |
| 45-54 | 1,443 | 4,415 | |
| 55-64 | 2,073 | 3,709 | |
| 65-74 | 1,134 | 2,411 | |
| 75+ | 741 | 1,788 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| All Parts Body | Other | |
| Not Stated/unk | Other | |
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Head | Other | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Face | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Finger | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Leg | Fracture | |
| Hand | Fracture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
23YOF HEADACHE WHEN CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR WAS GOING OFF FOR UNK REASON. COHB 0.0%DX EXPOSURE CARBON MONOXIDE
27YOF HEADACHE, NAUSEA WHEN CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR WAS GOING OFF FOR UNK REASON. COHB 1.2%DX CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
53YOF C/O HEADACHE WHEN CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR WAS GOING OFF FOR UNK REASON. COHB 0.1DX EXPOSURE CARBON MONOXIDE
37YOF CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE, COHB 9.3%. C/O NAUSEA AND HA. PT HAS WORKERS USING CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT IN HOUSE WHEN ALARM WENT OFF. READING PER FD WAS 70 PPMDX CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
^71YOF HAD A RENTAL CAR RUNNING IN GARAGE BY ACCIDENT DID NOT REALIZE IT WAS ON HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR 4 HOURS HER BODY GOT NUMB AND TINGLING, HAD HEADACHE CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM WENT OFF LEVEL WAS 10 FIRE DEPARTMENT ON SCENE NO FIRE CARBOXYHEMOGLOBIN 7.9 DX:TOXIC EFFECT OF CARBON MONIXIDE
5YOM PT STAYING IN A CAMPER WHERE A STRANGE SMELL WAS NOTED ALL DAY. C/O HEADACHE. CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR WENT OFF & A LEAKY PROPANE CYLINDER NOTED (CARBOXYHEMOGLOBIN 1.0%) DX: HEADACHE IN PEDIATRIC PATIENT
18MOF PT STAYING IN CAMPER WHEN CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR WENT OFF; STRANGE SMELL NOTED IN THE CAMPER. ABG = 0.5% (CARBOXYHEMOGLOBIN) DX: NAUSEA & VOMITING IN CHILD
39 YOF FOUND BY FAMILY AT HOME WITH DECREASED LOC. THE CO DETECTORS IN HER HOME WERE GOING OFF. SHE RECALLS MAKING CRABCAKES YESTERDAY EVENING. DOES NOT REMEMBER MUCH AFTER THAT. FAMILY FOUND HER GAS STOVE TURNED ON. SHE BELIEVES SHE MAY HAVE ACCIDENTALLY LEFT IT ON. C/O MILD HEADACHE. COHGB 10.0 DX CO POISONING, HYPOXIA
34YOF PT C/O DIZZINESS & STATES CO DETECTORS WENT OFF, @ HOME. C/O NAUSEA DX: CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
24YOF, WAS SLEEPING AT HOME WHEN SHE WAS AWOKEN BY THE CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM, HER MOTHER ACCIDENTALLY LEFT HER CAR ON IN THE GARAGE, WHICH IS IN VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO PATIENT'S ROOM, COMPLAINING OF HEADACHE, DIZZINESS AND NAUSEA, DX: CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
36YOF WAS IN A HOTEL WHEN THE CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR WAS STARTED GOING OFF AND IS LIGHTHEADED DX: CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
42YOF STATES HER CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR WENT OFF AND THE GAS COMPANY TOLD HER SHE HAS A GAS LEAK FROM HER WATER HEATER THAT WAS INSTALLED A YEAR AGO. PT HAS HAD NAUSEA AND HEADACHES INTERMITTENTLY OVER THE YEAR. CO LEVEL WAS 1.6. DX: CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
I bought a Kidde Gas and Carbon Monoxide Alarm about a year ago, after we had had a natural gas leak. The gas pipe outside broke, and the gas came into the house through the dryer vent. There are not a lot of Natural Gas Alarms out there. Kidde is a good brand, so I bought their alarm. Well, the gas pipe broke again recently, and the house filled with gas. Thankfully, I have a good gas-sniffing nose, because the alarm registered 0 and did not even chirp once the entire time the gas was in the house. I'm glad we were not out of town or sleeping. The alarm was properly installed, plugged in, it had a working backup battery, and the test I performed afterwards was successful (the alarm is actually quite loud when it works). I called Kidde and they sent me 2 more of the Gas and Carbon Monoxide Alarms. I asked how I can be sure that these alarms will work in the event of another gas leak. The answer was, "YOU CAN'T. YOU JUST HAVE TO RELY ON THE MONITOR. THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK." I don't feel any safer with the alarms. I have no confidence that any of the Kidde gas alarms will function as they should in the event of a gas leak. The scary part is that we won't know if the alarm works until we have a gas leak. We could die in our sleep or blow up the house with the flick of a light switch. Kidde is selling a safety product that carries no assurance of working when needed.
Kidde brand carbon monoxide alarm shorted out and melted the wall outlet in my home shorting out the entire electrical circuit. Model Number: KN-COB-DP-H Assembly Number: 900-0107 Date of Mfg.: 2000, September, 11 Issue No.: 1854
Kidde Smoke Detector/Carbon Monoxide detector at fire station beeping every 60 seconds. Which normally means low battery. A new battery was installed device said push test button, the detector then sounded the fire alarm activation but did not cycle and test the CO Portion of the device. Also the green power light is showing that the device has A/C power when in fact it is sitting on my desk. As a Fire Marshal I have had similar issues with this style detector and would like to speak to someone.
The First Alert carbon monoxide alarm shorted out across the two blades that plug into the outlet, almost like a metal rod was dropped across it. It kicked the breaker, turned the outlet and the back of the alarm black. The power adapter model number is UP-1AD-12-A, the number that is stamped on the back of the unit is 30801
I have had a 120 volt First Alert Carbon Monoxide Alarm in my 40 foot diesel motorcoach for several years as a backup for a similar battery operated product. I keep it in the coach to provide a margin of safety when I am operating a permanent propane powered Onan Generator on board. The model number for the Alarm is FCD2N and the serial Number is A549265. The order replacement for the Alarm is "B". This week while the motorcoach was in the Parliament Motorcoach facility in Clearwater, Florida for maintenance, the Alarm suddenly started smoking on the wall next to the stove while workers were coming in and out of the unit. They grabbed the unit and tossed it out the door and could only pick it up when the electrical board inside had finally cooled. The heat was so intense that a small section of the rectangular plastic box was melted....but otherwise there was not indication of any problems, like at the electrical plug on the wall or the electrical prongs on the device. An electrician quickly checked the wall plug for problems and found nothing.
I recently bought a First Alert C0400 battery operated carbon monoxide detector. It was difficult to open the battery case and install the 9 volt battery but after a few minutes I was successful without breaking the plastic door. After mounting the detector on the bedroom wall, I pushed the test button. There was no response from the unit.
When I hooked up my new carbon monoxide detector, it didn't work. I needed the detector in the house to comply with state fire code, but the product didn't operate.
Kidde P4010ACS frequently has false alarms even after resetting and cleaning the sensor
Showing 8 of 44 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to carbon monoxide detectors on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are carbon monoxide detectors?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, carbon monoxide detectors have a danger score of 33/100 (low risk). An estimated 3,845 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from carbon monoxide detectors?
The most common injury is anoxia to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 74,491 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from carbon monoxide detectors increasing or decreasing?
Down 26% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for carbon monoxide detectors injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 14,202 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by carbon monoxide detectors?
Of all ER visits involving carbon monoxide detectors, approximately 3.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with carbon monoxide detectors?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Heating & Cooling Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 33/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 5-14 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
