I happen to be fortunate enough to have a two car garage although I rarely use it to store or park a vehicle. When a winter storm is looming, however, be it snow or ice, I will take advantage of it and park my SUV in there so I don't have to get up super early and deal with the snow.

Since I don't often use my garage I often forget about the dangers of a vehicle in a garage. A closed garage to be specific.

I remember a couple years ago when I was volunteering for a local fire department, I was showing my youngest son the fire trucks when I heard some beeping. Now, no one else was in the garage at the the time, but a truck had just pulled out and the doors had closed right after (it was winter).

THIS IS WHEN I REALIZED WHAT THE BEEPING WAS...

air pollution from dirty and aged vehicle exhaust pipe on road
ByoungJoo
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Some of the exhaust from the exiting fire truck had set off the carbon monoxide detectors, and rightfully so. Carbon Monoxide is deadly and has no odor.

Carbon Monoxide can turn deadly within minutes. So please don't leave your car running in the garage. Don't ever warm-up a car in a garage, even with the garage door open. In less than two minutes gas fumes build to lethal concentrations in the garage. In an attached garage, fumes can quickly spread to the house. -local.nixle.com

Carbon Monoxide is sneaky and extremely dangerous. Even after just a few minutes of my vehicle running, I felt like I had to leave the garage door open for several more minutes just to make sure all of the gas had exited!

Garages are great, but just remember about the dangers of CO poisoning this winter.

What are the symptoms of CO poisoning? The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. CO symptoms are often described as “flu-like.” If you breathe in a lot of CO it can make you pass out or kill you. -cdc.gov

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