Lakeland Fire officials are warning golf cart owners to take extra precaution when charging their batteries.
Lakeland Fire Lieutenant Matt Brown said they responded to a home after their carbon monoxide detector was going off and discovered a golf cart charging in the garage.
“When we interviewed the homeowner, he was talking about how he went in his garage cause he was charging a car battery and his golf cart battery,” Lieutenant Brown said. “So the crews went into the garage and realized around the golf cart we were getting reading about 250 parts per million.”
Firefighters used a carbon monoxide detector to measure the amount of dangerous, odorless gas in the room. In this case it was hydrogen, which they said is just as dangerous as carbon monoxide.
“When golf cart batteries are older, charging it omits hydrogen, and even though these gas monitors are very sensitive and delicate pieces of equipment, they’re not perfect and it tricked the monitor into thinking it was carbon monoxide,” Lieutenant Brown said.
Robert Dinobile owns a golf cart and as convenient as it is, he knows all about the dangers that come with it.
“I was taught that if you charge it too long with the caps on the batteries could explode or melt down and have acid all over the place,” Dinobile said.
Not only is the hydrogen from the golf cart batteries harmful, if exposed long enough it could be fatal and even explosive. So how can you keep yourself safe?
Check out your smoke detector. Many of them also double as a carbon monoxide detector. And if you don’t have a carbon monoxide detector and you own a golf cart consider these options.
- Purchase a new smoke detector.
- Make sure the batteries are in good condition.
- Charge your golf cart in a ventilated space.
And if you think you could be in danger of one of the harmful gases call 911.
Emergency officials say although this could happen, it is rare but they’re warning golf cart owners to just be a little more careful.