Why Every Traveller Should Pack a Carbon Monoxide Alarm: Staying Safe Abroad
Travel broadens the mind, but it also involves risks that many don’t think about until it’s too late. One such danger is carbon monoxide poisoning: invisible, odorless, and potentially deadly. Based on recent campaigns, product info, and real-life tragedy, here are essential facts and steps every traveler should take to protect themselves.
The Story Behind the Safety Push
In 2023, Hudson Foley, a healthy 24-year-old backpacker from Camberley, was staying in a homestay in Quito, Ecuador. After several days of feeling unwell, he died from carbon monoxide poisoning, in a location where faulty or poorly ventilated appliances were likely the cause.
His family, especially his mother Cathy Foley, launched the Pack Safe Appeal under the Safer Tourism Foundation. The goal: raise awareness among travelers, and push for travel industry & accommodation providers to improve safety, and travellers themselves to pack carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.
What is Carbon Monoxide & Why It’s Dangerous
- CO is a gas produced by fuel-burning appliances (heaters, stoves, boilers, generators). If these are old, poorly maintained, or in inadequately ventilated spaces, CO can build up to dangerous levels.
- Because the gas is invisible and odorless, people often don’t notice poisoning until symptoms are severe. Early warning comes only via an alarm.
Symptoms may include headache, nausea, dizziness, confusion, things many travelers or hosts can mistake for altitude sickness, stomach bug, jet lag or mild illness. Delay in response can mean serious injury or death.
What Travelers Should Do
Here are safe-travel practices every traveler should follow, especially when staying in homestays, hostels, rural lodges, Airbnb-type rentals, or places where building codes may be less strict.
- Pack a portable CO alarm
A small, lightweight detector can go in your backpack or carry-on. It’s affordable, e.g. models cost ~£20. For many people that’s a small price compared to the safety it provides. - Check accommodation safety beforehandAsk hosts if their fuel-burning appliances are properly maintained, if there’s ventilation, and whether there’s a CO alarm already installed. The “Pack Safe Appeal” is calling on accommodation providers to adopt these standards.
- Understand what to look for in an alarm
- Certification (e.g. BS EN 50291 in the UK)
- Long-life battery (sealed lithium battery for many years) so you don’t need to replace it frequently.
- Portable / dual-use: suitable for homes, caravans, boats, tents etc.
- Loud enough alarm (so that you can hear in time).
- Know symptoms & act quicklyRecognize early signals (headache, dizziness, nausea, etc.). If you suspect poisoning, get fresh air, leave the building, seek medical attention. Don’t ignore even small discomforts.
Example of a Good Product – What to Look For
One example is the UltraFire ULLCO10: a CO detector with a sealed 10-year lithium battery, certified under BS EN 50291-1 and -2. It can be used in homes, while travelling, in caravans, boats — wherever there might be fuel-burning appliances. It’s compact, portable, has good LED indicators (power, alarm, fault), and a clear alarm sound.
This kind of device is what the Pack Safe Appeal recommends travellers carry. It’s a modest investment that can save lives.
Why This Matters Globally
- Legislation / safety standards differ by country. What’s required or enforced in one place may not be anywhere in another. Travellers should assume minimal protection and bring their own.
- Travel industry & hosts have responsibilities too: adopting safety measures, installing alarms, informing guests. The campaign urges providers to include CO alarms in kit lists, safety briefings, etc.
- Cost vs benefit: A CO alarm is cheap; the cost of not having one (in health, life, grief) is far greater.
Travelling should be about adventure, discovery, relaxation, not preventable tragedies. Hudson’s story is a tough reminder that often the risk isn’t visible until it’s too late. But with simple preparation (like carrying a certified CO detector), you can travel safer.
No matter where you go, whether a hostel high in the Andes or a remote lodge by a lake, having reliable CO protection isn’t overkill — it’s smart travel. Stay informed, stay alert, and pack safe.