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Flame » in reply to Just promise me you won't get a kerosene heater...

I VERY nearly died from a kerosene heater as a kid
R.L. — (archived)

We were trying to save money on our heating bills- I had a big kerosene heater in my bedroom... of course I kept the door of my room open wide when using it... but one night I got up, half asleep, to use the bathroom and on my way back to bed I closed my bedroom door.

I awoke sometime later because I had apparently trapped our kitten in my room when I closed the door- it was VERY agitated and pawing at my face... (something it had never done before or after that night). I had a HORRENDOUS buzzing headache and felt VERY disoriented- I luckily realized what was happening and FORCED myself to get up (All I wanted to do was just lie there, just the thought of getting up and moving was painful). The heater normally had a bright clean flame... it was now dull orange and black soot was coming out. I stumbled to the door and went into the library across the hall- it was almost like I could taste the oxygen... when my head cleared a bit I went back to my room and got the kitten which was just wandering around disoriented and opened all my windows... It took quite a while before I returned to normal... I ended up sleeping the rest of the night in a chair downstairs.

IF the kitten hadnt chosen to be in my room at that particular time in its nightly prowl of the house, and IF it hadn't tried very hard to wake me, and IF it hadn't succeeded I would certainly have died as a teenager.

Do NOT get a kerosene heater if you have kids or those with mental impairments- If you put one in a room make SURE that the door to that room cannot be easily shut. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is VERY sneaky- if I hadn't realized what was happening I would have just stayed in bed to sleep off that headache- That was all my body wanted to do. You should view a kerosene heater in your home in the same way you would view a loaded machine gun in your home- if ONE person in the house makes a stupid mistake you have a family tragedy.

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