Dec 18, 2008 7:18 am US/Pacific
Carbon Monoxide Sickens 8 In Redwood City
REDWOOD CITY (BCN) ―
-
-
8 people, including 6 children, were hospitalized after being poisoned by carbon monxide inside their Redwood City home on Wednesday.
CBS
Eight people, including five children, are recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning at two local hospitals after Menlo Park Fire Protection District officials responded to a report of a child sick inside a home Wednesday night in unincorporated Redwood City.
Firefighters responded at about 8:45 p.m. to a home at 289 Fourth Ave. where they found eight victims sick inside the home, according to Menlo Park fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman.
The victims included five children, three of whom were unconscious when emergency crews arrived, Schapelhouman said. The children, who were between 2-12 years old, were taken outside were they regained consciousness with the help of oxygen from fire crews, according to Schapelhouman.
The victims were taken to Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto and Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Redwood City, where they are being observed and are expected to fully recover, Schapelhouman said.
The cause of the carbon monoxide poisoning was apparently exhaust from a 4,000-watt generator that was running in the basement to power light fixtures and other appliances in the house, according to Schapelhouman, who said power to the home had been turned off earlier Wednesday because of late bill payments.
Carbon monoxide, which is odorless and colorless, had apparently filled up the basement and seeped through the floor and heating vents, Schapelhouman said.
"What we feel fortunate about is that they were able to call us, because if not, all eight might've been dead," Schapelhouman said.
Between 12 and 17 people were living in the home at the time, and several illegal and hazardous alterations had been made to the home, according to Schapelhouman.
The tenants will not be allowed to return for the near future while fire and building officials investigate the home, but Schapelhouman said that the victims are lucky to still be alive.
"When crews went in with a meter to measure the levels, we were somewhat shocked because the meter almost went off the charts," Schapelhouman said. "It had maxed out the saturation of carbon monoxide that the meter could even read, so the fact that they're still hanging in there and walking around is amazing."
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
Click Here For July 4th Fireworks Guide
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
