Fire officials are sounding the alarm about the importance of carbon monoxide (CO) detectors.
They say a London couple is lucky to be alive after they found lethal levels of the odorless gas in their home.
Before going to bed one night, the couple turned on their natural gas heater so they could go for a swim in their indoor pool the next morning.
In the middle of the night, the man went downstairs to read after having trouble sleeping. A short time later, he tried to get up but collapsed, thinking he was having a stroke.
After a few attempts, the man was eventually able to wake his sleeping wife to call 911.
When paramedics arrived, their CO detectors went off, prompting them to evacuate the home and call the fire department. Fire officials arrived with testing equipment that confirmed the toxic gas inside the home, and said levels were in life-threatening territory.
They said that without the 911 call in the middle of the night, the couple could have easily died from the toxic gas.
At a media event Friday morning, the couple will be sharing their story to help show how a CO-detector can really be the difference between life and death.
They thought they had combination smoke-CO alarms — turns out they didn’t.
Fire officials and EMS will be in attendance Friday to drive home the importance of these potentially life-saving devices.
Fire departments across the province have been making a push for mandatory carbon monoxide detectors in homes after OPP Const. Laurie Hawkins, along with her husband and two children, died from carbon monoxide poisoning in December 2008.
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