NY Daily News – March 10, 2016
by Graham Rayman
Firefighters and paramedics rescued a family after their new Queens home flooded with carbon monoxide gas early Tuesday, officials said.
Emergency workers were initially called to the home on 77th Ave. near 226th St. in Flushing for a woman who had fallen and hurt herself about 5:30 a.m., authorities said.
They found the woman slumped on a toilet seat in a first-floor bathroom, officials aid. One of her kids was crying and her husband was in a strange state.
“He couldn’t answer simple questions,” said FDNY Lt. Thomas Minelli. “He was walking in circles and was disoriented.”
Clearly, something odd was happening. Firefighters used a portable gas detector and solved the mystery.
The house was filled with carbon monoxide at the extremely high level of 755 parts per million, according to Minelli, 52, of Engine 326.
“The only acceptable level of carbon monoxide is zero,” Minelli said. “755 parts per million is probably in the deadly range.”
The family had recently moved into the house and it was not equipped with carbon monoxide detectors, officials said. Another child and an elderly man were also home.
The woman had first collapsed in the bedroom before passing out again in the bathroom, officials said.
Firefighters evacuated the family, which also included a second child and an elderly man.
Battalion Chief Lawrence Nostramo ordered high-pressure fans brought in to clear the gas from the house.
A faulty heating unit was venting the deadly gas into the house, according to Con Edison spokesman Bob McGee.
“We believe they recently had some work done on the furnace and it wasn’t done to code,” Minelli said.
All five occupants of the house were hospitalized. The woman was in stable condition Tuesday afternoon after being treated in a hyperbaric chamber, officials said.
“This incident really points up the need for people to have carbon monoxide detectors in their homes,” Minelli said. “It’s so important that everyone have these since you can’t smell or taste the gas. If this family had one, this could have been averted.”
Almost every New York City house and apartment is required to have carbon monoxide detectors, a Fire Department spokeswoman said.
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