Oct. 10, 2000-- A woman and her two young children were rushed to the hospital early this morning, victims of a potential silent killer-- carbon monoxide.
Doctors say they are lucky they survived.
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The family thought they had done everything they were supposed to. They even had their furnace repaired just last night.
But apparently that wasn't enough.
When Wendy woke up this morning, she and her two children thought they had the flu. Then three-year-old Cameron went into a seizure.
Emergency crews arrived immediately and detected carbon monoxide levels nine times higher normal limits.
Dennis McKone of the Salt Lake City Fire Department says, "We call this the silent killer. It's odorless and it's tasteless."
Mother and two boys were taken to the hospital. Luckily all are okay.
Ironically the landlord had just called a repairman out last night to fix a valve.
Dan Piper of Piper Electric says, "I didn't think it was a serious problem, but it's not my expertise to make that judgement."
More testament, experts say, to the vital importance of installing a carbon monoxide detector.
Matt Rich says, "I just wish that I had put a carbon monoxide detector in there. And they would have had a little more warning sign."
"They save lives. Just like a smoke detector, they save lives."
A good safety measure--
Strike a match in front of the flu on your furnace, then blow it out. If the smoke blows toward you, you've got a problem. Turn it off and call for emergency help.
