Tips for using portable generators

With the recent severe weather, the Beavercreek Township Fire Department is alerting those affected by power outages and use portable generators to follow these Generator Safety Tips:

  • Operate generator in well ventilated location. Outdoors. away from all doors, windows and vent openings.    
  • Never use a generator in an attached garage, even with the garage door open.    
  • Place generators so that exhaust fumes can't enter the home through windows, doors or other openings in the building.    
  • Install carbon monoxide (CO) alarms in your home. Often called the invisible killer, CO is an odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. Some signs and symptoms of CO poisoning are nausea, head aches, weakness, and dizziness. If you suspect you have CO poisoning, immediately evacuate the area and call 911.    
  • Turn off generators and let them cool down before refueling.    

  • Never refuel a generator while it is running.    
  • Store generator fuel in a container that is intended for the purpose and is correctly labeled as such. Store the containers outside of living areas.