Don’t park it next to a door or window.
The generator in the photo at left killed a Louisiana woman and her two sons. (Read story here.) They used it during a storm outage, and died of carbon monoxide poisoning from the exhaust fumes.
“Portable generators are one of the deadliest consumer products on the market, killing about 80 people in the U.S. each year and poisoning thousands of others,” NBC News says.
The industry warns “generators should only be operated outside with the exhaust pointed away from windows and doors.” But that’s not sufficient. You must keep the exhaust away from doors and windows. That’s what long extension cords are for.