Carbon monoxide is a potentially deadly gas that can’t be detected without a mechanical alarm. It is colorless, odorless, and very poisonous. It causes an average of 150 deaths per year.

It’s playground safety week, sponsored by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The CPSC is out to prevent falls, entrapments, cuts, and other playground injuries that are all too common at schools and parks.

Thirty thousand toy helicopters, called Fun2Fly Microcopters, were voluntarily recalled February 12 because of a fire hazard. The battery charger can overheat and cause the toy to burst into flames. Several incidents and one injury have been reported.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than 1 million portable electric heaters from Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc., a now defunct Kansas company, in August 2004. Vornado now has to pay $500,000 in civil penalties because it didn’t report problems with the heaters in a timely manner.

Car charging units for L.L. Bean air mattresses were voluntarily recalled January 18 due to risk of injury to the consumer. The charging unit can overheat and burst when it is connected to the cigarette lighter outlet inside the car.