CALGARY – The Calgary Fire Department credits a carbon monoxide detector for saving the lives of two Calgary families Monday morning.
Around 9:00a.m., Marcella Archer was having a coffee when she began to feel dizzy and nauseous. She checked the CO detector in her home which was registering higher and higher levels of CO until it went off.
She immediately called 911; firefighters arrived at her home in the 1000 block of 1st Avenue N.W. to find carbon monoxide levels as high as 170 parts per million – far exceeding the 12.5 ppm standard for a safety evacuation.
Investigators believe the source of the CO was exhaust fumes from Marcella’s husbands truck, which was idling in the driveway for three minutes approximately an hour earlier. The fumes travelled into air intake valves for the furnace in the home.
“When I talked to my husband I said – ok, how long was that truck idling because they figured that’s what did it. He said no more than two-three minutes before he took off and that’s all it took.”
Marcella as well as her neighbour and an infant were evacuated from their homes and treated by EMS. Thankfully, all three are ok.
“In this case it’s a happy ending but I could see where people don’t have these detectors. My first thought was to my neighbour – oh god, is she passed out with her baby in the house? And so they checked it out by she was fine as well.”
Carbon monoxide, a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas, can cause illness or death. The deadly gas is produced when a fuel such as gasoline, natural gas, propane or wood burns incompletely.
Flu-like symptoms can include shortness of breath, nausea, headaches and light-headedness.
Fire crews suggest homeowners have a CO detector installed on every level of their home especially close to where they sleep.
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