| Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is EXTREMELY
toxic -- 35x more toxic than carbon monoxide. It only takes a little
bit of time for HCN to cause some serious harm.
Hydrogen cyanide attacks your brain,
heart, and organs. Exposure could mess with a victim's brain and make it very difficult for them to follow instructions, cause them to be
disoriented. This makes rescue excessively difficult.
Heart attacks have also been linked to
hydrogen cyanide poisoning. In March of 2006, during a 24-hour
period, a Providence RI firefighter was diagnosed with cyanide poisoning
after a structure fire. Another firefighter worked 2 different structure
fires, had high levels of HCN in his body, and suffered a heart
attack. After those 3 fires, 27 firefighters were tested for HCN
poisoning and 8 were found to have high levels of HCN.
High levels of HCN could look like:
chest pain, confusion, dizziness, difficulty breathing, eye pain, weakness,
wheezing, rapid or slow heart rate or breathing, and vomiting.
If you are at a fire, and you're noticing
symptoms of HCN poisoning, or overall, not feelings right, seek medical
attention right away. Don't tough it out! It can cause damage
FAST!
Smoke has some NASTY carcinogens in
it. Make sure you're always wearing your SCBA. Then after a fire--
make sure you decon right away with FLAME Natural Decon! |
