Ignore the threat from carbon monoxide, and you risk serious harm or death.

Ignore the threat while others — including your loved ones — are staying in your home, and their deaths could be your fault.

In sharing that sobering message, public safety personnel are emphasizing how serious they regard the threat of the colorless, odorless toxin known as carbon monoxide gas.

In an annual reminder last week, the St. Joseph Fire Department and the American Association of Poison Control Centers offered a number of helpful ideas for avoiding these harms during the winter heating season. Two from the News-Press story stand out:

n All fuel-powered engines and heat sources produce carbon monoxide gas, so all of these are potential sources of the toxic gas.

The extensive list includes fireplaces, both installed and portable gas heaters, and such appliances as gas grills intended for outdoor use. To avoid injury or death, ensure the appliance or heat source is a modern, well-maintained unit and is working correctly. If you have any doubt, have a qualified service technician inspect the unit. Second, make sure you are using the appliance correctly — with the critical point being that adequate ventilation is required.

n For another layer of protection, install carbon monoxide detectors on each level of your home and outside all bedrooms.

This may seem redundant, but it is a critical step that will allow your family to make it out alive if this is the day that your furnace acts up, or that someone in the household forgot to check the chimney for a bird’s nest, or that … well, you get the idea.

St. Joseph first-responders will be called out to suspected cases of carbon monoxide poisoning several times over the course of a year, and “five to 10 of those calls turn out to be pretty serious,” according to fire inspector Steve Henrichson.

The problem is worse when people put off calling for help, thinking they have the flu and not realizing they are under attack from a poisonous gas. That’s one more reason to stop at the hardware store this evening and pick up an inexpensive carbon monoxide detector. That way, you’ll know the truth before it’s too late.