How do I tell my neighbour his planned generator spot is too close to our windows?
Neighbours“Next time the power goes out, it's going here,” my neighbour said, pointing to a square he had marked on the paving.
The spot is between our houses in the US, a few feet from his kitchen window and mine. During the last outage he threw away food he had bought for the week. He has now borrowed a portable generator and wants to be ready. It is not running; we are discussing the setup before the next outage.
I looked up the [CDC's generator guidance](https://www.cdc.gov/natural-disasters/psa-toolkit/use-a-generator-safely.html), which says to use one outdoors at least twenty feet from doors, windows and vents. The [CDC also explains the carbon-monoxide risk](https://www.cdc.gov/carbon-monoxide/about/). Being outside between two houses does not settle that concern.
He said the marked spot was convenient for the cable and he would just close his window. I asked him not to use that spot and suggested checking the proposed arrangement with the local fire service and the generator's instructions.
How do I keep the conversation practical now that he thinks I am dismissing the reason he borrowed it? I want him to have a plan for the outage; I can't agree to one that overlooks both houses' windows.