BERKLEY, Mass. (WWLP) – Berkley Fire and Rescue is reminding residents of heating safety after a carbon monoxide incident on Friday.

According to Berkley Fire and Rescue, crews were sent to a carbon monoxide alarm activation at a residence, and when the crews arrived, there was smoke in the home and had a CO reading of 120ppm. This was caused by a delayed ignition of an oil furnace.

The crews were able to ventilate the home and were safe for residents to go back in while an oil burner service technician was called to look at the furnace. The service technician found that the internal chamber of the furnace has a lot of carbon buildup, which is believed to be the cause of the furnace not properly venting through the chimney.

The home had properly operating smoke and carbon monoxide detectors which alerted the occupants and they were able to get out of the home safely and immediately called 911 for help. While this incident was a temporary inconvenience to the occupants, it could have been much worse had the smoke and CO detectors not been working.

It is very important to have annual maintenance of your heating system as well as having the presence of properly operating smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.