Four of five family members were found dead in their Burien house Monday; the fifth was rushed to Harborview in a state of collapse. The culprit? Most likely their gas-operated generator. The local news has been full of stories about generator-related illness and injury, so I thought I’d post up some generator safety tips.

First, do not use your generator inside. Just like a car, your generator uses an internal combustion engine that gives off carbon monoxide. Make sure your generator is outside and in a well-ventilated area where fumes will not enter the house.

Don’t overload the generator: your generator has an output rating. Do not exceed this rating or you will cause some serious damage to your appliances.

Never plug your generator into a household outlet. Never connect your generator directly to your home’s wiring. In both cases, you can create “backfeed” or send power to “dead” lines out on the power grid, which can be lethal for a utility worker making repairs even miles away from your home.

Use proper power cords. Read the instructions for your generator before doing anything else with it and make sure you follow those instructions to the letter. Make sure your generator is properly grounded, turn off all equipment being powered by the generator before you turn off your generator, and please, never try to refuel a generator whie it is still running.

For more tips and detailed explanations of these rules, visit the Consumer Product Safety Commision [site].