The Calgary Fire Department is urging people to install carbon monoxide detectors in their homes after an incident in the city Thursday morning.
Homeowner Richard Grant, his wife, their two teenage daughters and their grandma in her nineties were sent to hospital after a carbon monoxide leak in their home in the 1400 block of Premier Way S.W. at around 6:45 a.m.
“It was very scary,” Grant said.
“(The second youngest daughter) woke up but she was extremely faint. She kept falling down on the floor and complaining about headaches. She actually phoned us in our room and we came over there.”
“The three of us were dizzy and faint and nauseous.”
“She has a big deck door window in her room. Opened that up and got some fresh air,” Grant said. “I went to talk to grandma and McKenna (the other daughter). They weren’t feeling well so we called 911. They told us to get out of the house as soon as possible.”
When emergency crews arrived, paramedics were met outside by three adults and two teens, all of whom complained of feeling dizzy and nauseous. They were taken to the Rockyview General Hospital in stable, non-life-threatening condition.
Grant said the family was put on oxygen for five hours at the hospital but are all home and feeling better.
The family had just returned from vacation early Thursday morning.
According to the Calgary Fire Department, CO concentration in one of the bedrooms was found to be 120 parts per million (PPM), while the basement had as much as 600 PPM.
“Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless, tasteless and non-irritating,” CFD spokesperson Carol Henke said. “You don’t know its presence in your home, potentially, so a carbon monoxide alarm is the best way to alert you to that fact.
“The best place to put one, if you only have one to place, is in or near your sleeping area so you hear it activate in the middle of the night.”
She said one of the residents had opened windows in the house before they left, which likely helped to vent the noxious gas.
The leak is thought to have come from a malfunctioning boiler.
Grant said the home had two CO detectors but neither of them went off.
“We probably should check them annually,” he said.
EMS warns even low levels of exposure to CO can cause health problems.
“CO is harmful because it rapidly accumulates in the blood, depleting the ability of blood to carry oxygen,” a Thursday news release said. “Once it is in the blood, it could linger for long periods of time.”
WATCH BELOW: A Calgary family was taken to hospital Thursday morning after a carbon monoxide leak. Gary Bobrovitz reports, officials are using this as a reminder of the dangers of carbon monoxide.
With files from Gary Bobrovitz