Firefly Music Festival's hidden danger: Carbon monoxide poisoning

Campers are getting ready to descend on Dover Wednesday for Firefly Music Festival, likely planning for wear-and-tear like dehydration and sunburn.

But if they're going to be staying in an RV or camping near a vehicle, they should also be taking precautions against carbon monoxide poisoning.   

RVs typically come with a CO monitor, but they can malfunction. And those who don't typically travel via RV — like groups who've rented one for the first time to hit a festival — might not be familiar with the dangers of the colorless, odorless gas.

Four paramedics working at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., last weekend were taken to the hospital for possible carbon monoxide poisoning, according to The Tennessean. 

The group was using a generator to power the RV they were staying in and the exhaust was blocked, according to Lucky Knott, spokesman for the Coffee County Sheriff's Office.

"It looks like the exhaust somehow was blocked," Knott said. "They are just very, very fortunate. Right now were are in hopes that all four will survive." 

Bonnaroo tweeted some safety reminders to its thousands of campers, reminding them to never sleep in a running car. They also reminded campers that if they were going to be in a running car — say, to cool down with some air conditioning or charge their phone — they should point the vehicle's exhaust away from others.

Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain and confusion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here are some CO safety tips campers should keep in mind: 

• Don't use portable heaters or lanterns while sleeping in tents, campers or other vehicles.
• Alcohol or drug use may compromise the ability to recognize symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.
• If you drive a car or SUV with a tailgate, when you open the tailgate open the vents or windows to make sure air is moving through. If only the tailgate is open CO from the exhaust will be pulled into the car or SUV.
• Never use a gas range or oven for heating inside a camper.
• Never use a portable gas camp stove inside a camper.

Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

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