An elderly man has died and an elderly woman was rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition on Tuesday morning after they were exposed to high carbon monoxide levels in a home in Ottawa’s east-end, paramedics confirm.
First responders were called to a home in the 300 block of Phoenix Crescent in Orléans at around 10:45 a.m. by a neighbour who went into the home to check on its two elderly residents and found one of them in critical condition, according to Ottawa paramedics.
Firefighters took readings of the carbon monoxide levels shortly after 11 a.m. and determined that parts of the home had readings of over 600 parts per million, according to a spokesperson for Ottawa Fire Services. In the basement, readings reached up to nearly 700 parts per million, said Jen McNeely, Ottawa fire’s public information officer.
“These are extremely high,” she said.
“The ideal is zero and we start getting concerned after 25, so this is very high.”
The elderly couple was found unconscious, according to paramedics. The woman was taken to hospital with a hyperbaric chamber to treat carbon monoxide poisoning, Ottawa paramedic spokesperson Marc-Antoine Deschamps said.
The neighbour was also taken to hospital “as a precaution.”
Deschamps confirmed later on Tuesday that the elderly man died on scene.
McNeely said firefighters are investigating the source of the carbon monoxide and remain on scene with Ottawa police.