5 Apr 2011
Carbon monoxide-Awareness is run completely by unpaid volunteers who aim to make a difference

Carbon monoxide (CO)-Awareness is run completely by unpaid volunteers who aim to make a difference.

Lynn Griffiths, President/Founder of Carbon monoxide-Awareness - a registered charity and founder of the national Carbon monoxide Awareness Week tells the Fire Industry Association (FIA) her story. She and her children were poisoned by carbon monoxide (CO) for over a decade, now knowing only too well the devastating effects this silent killer can have on family life. Carbon monoxide-Awareness supports those poisoned by Carbon monoxide, their families and career's.

The charity’s details are listed with the Dept of Health, NHS direct , HSE plus and many more. Carbon monoxide (CO)-Awareness is run completely by unpaid volunteers who aim to make a difference. The very small charity lost its main funding stream last April and really needs the public’s support to help stop others from suffering from this silent killer.

Lynn Griffiths calls for, “the general public, medical profession (including testing at post-mortem's) and industry to take this issue more seriously.According to a census in 2001, 97,400 children under the age of 16 look after their loved ones at home, and the National Curriculum could do so much more to teach children about carbon monoxide as a key life skill. Education is the key to preventing carbon monoxide poisoning and how to protect themselves from this silent killer.

In most cases of accidental poisonings, victims don't realise that carbon monoxide was being produced or building up in the air they were breathing. The older generation, those with heart or lung problems, pregnant mothers, unborn babies, and young children are all particularly vulnerable to the dangers of carbon monoxide. Lynn Griffiths asks the public, “Please add ‘the 6th national Carbon monoxide (CO)-Awareness week’ to your diary which starts Monday 21st November 2011.”

Carbon monoxide-Awareness has asked the FIA to promote the charity in order to make every area in the UK a safer place to live by helping them to educate families all over the UK about the dangers of Carbon monoxide. Lynn Griffiths adds, “Carbon monoxide (CO) is the most common poison in the UK today but it's something which many families still know so little about. I believe that if I hadn't been poisoned by Carbon monoxide our charity would not have been here to help raise awareness about the dangers of carbon monoxide or offer support to those poisoned by carbon monoxide.”