(London Free Press – Carbon monoxide detector.)
It’s a cautionary tale about the “silent killer.”
A London couple is trumpeting the need for carbon monoxide (CO) detectors after a close call at their Lambeth home.
A simple swim turned into a near-death experience after a faulty indoor pool heater began leaking carbon monoxide into the air.
The London fire department said in a media release the couple had just returned from a trip to Florida, and turned on the heater in anticipation of taking a dip the next morning.
But that night, one of the homeowners collapsed when he stood up from his chair. He assumed it was a stroke, and tried to call for his wife – but she couldn’t hear him. The man was forced to crawl across the floor to open a door and call for help. His wife dialled 911.
Paramedics pinpointed the culprit as soon as they entered the home. Their carbon monoxide alarms were triggered immediately. Firefighters later tested the scene and found life-threatening levels of CO in the air.
“The couple mistakenly believed the alarms in their house were combination smoke-CO alarms, but they were only smoke alarms,” the fire department said.
“Without the call in the middle of the night to 911, the couple could easily have been killed by the toxic gas in a matter of hours.”
Carbon monoxide alarms were made mandatory in Ontario homes after the provincial government passed the Hawkins-Gignac Act in 2014. The law is named after OPP Const. Laurie Hawkins and her family, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in their Woodstock home in 2008.
Source: Wrong alarm almost kills couple | The London Free Press
