SEATTLE - It's so preventable and even affordable, yet so many people take a chance on their lives by ignoring it.

It's carbon monoxide, an odorless gas that can make you sick, or even kill.

Carbon monoxide poisoning sent close to 300 people to local hospitals after December's windstorm knocked out power. Ten people died from CO poisoning.

Five of those deaths came from one family, in Burien. They suffered carbon monoxide poisoning after using a gas-powered generator when they lost power. And the gas overwhelmed more than a dozen people at a Kent apartment complex. Most were immigrants, just trying to cook dinner as they did in their native lands.

Teresa Lam, with the Chinese Information Center explained, "The kitchen is usually like outside the main house the residential area. And the kitchen is out, with windows and they open the doors, so they use a lot of charcoal and cook all the time, but still nothing happened."

This is why Lam is spreading the word about the dangers of CO poisoning.

Dionne Stowers met with Lam to get a carbon monoxide detector after her experience during the big power outage in December.

"Our power went out and the people beneath me, they used a generator and I was concerned about the carbon monoxide coming in my place," she said.

Older furnaces, water heaters and gas ovens or stoves can also produce carbon monoxide.

Barbara Pellegrino said she's worried about it.

"Well, I've been hearing about so much on the news, and I have a mother that's 80 years old, so I want to protect her from that at home and if there's a leak or something, at least we'll be aware of it," she said.

We were reminded of the danger again this week when a Kent man and his two kids suffered carbon monoxide poisoning after the car was left running in the garage. Gas and diesel engines are certainly something else to look out for.

Remember, you cannot see or smell carbon monoxide. The best way to know if it's there is to get a carbon monoxide detector. It sounds a loud alarm if levels from carbon monoxide reach a dangerous level.

It's important to be prepared, even in your RV or boat. As we head into spring and warmer weather, you'll certainly want to make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector in every sleeping quarter of your boat or RV.

The King County Website includes carbon monoxide warning flyers in 7 languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese. If you know someone who needs a translation, download a flyer and print it for them at www.metrokc.gov/health/disaster

For more information, you can also contact the Chinese Information Center, at (206) 624-5633. Their address is 611 S Lane Street, in Seattle.

For instructions for more help read in Cantonese, you can hear this This Audio Link