Dec. 8, 1999
Several Salt Lake County residents are recovering from carbon monoxide poisioning.
The potentially fatal gas invaded a home near 20th East and 73rd South this morning--
and a business near 4600 South and Highland Drive this afternoon.
News specialist Richard Piatt has the story.
Firefighters use a powerful fan to clear the air inside the business at 4699 S. Highland Drive.
Just minutes before, employees noticed they all felt sick with the same symptoms.
Kathy Blake/Breathed Carbon Monoxide: "REALLY BAD HEADACHE. ALL OF US FELT THAT, HEART PALPITATIONS, I MEAN IT WAS LIKE, AM I HAVING A HEART ATTACK? REALLY NAUSEOUS."
Jill Bennion/Breathed Carbon Monoxide: "WELL I WONDERED IF, LIKE KATHY DID, IF I WAS HAVING A HEART ATTACK. AND THEN WE STARTED TALKING TO EACH OTHER AND REALIZED WE WERE ALL FEELING THE SAME WAY."
Feeling the way people do when Carbon Monoxide poisons their body.
The source of the toxin, according to the Salt County Fire Department: a furnace which was malfunctioning.
Employees were treated with oxygen and left with slight headaches.
The situation was far more serious at a Sandy home: Two children and two adults were each taken to
hospitals with severe carbon monoxide poisoning.
Chief Dave Lehmhof/Salt Lake County Fire Dept.: "THE BASEMENT WAS ALL SEALED OFF WHERE THE FURNACE WAS. IT COULDN'T GET ANY FRESH AIR INTO WHERE THE FURNACE WAS AND THAT CAUSED THE CARBON MONOXIDE TO BUILD UP BACK INTO THE HOUSE."
Here, too, the people were aware of how they were feeling, and what it probably was.
It probably saved their lives.
The acceptable limit for carbon monoxide in a home is 35 parts per million.
In that Sandy home, it was about 2,000 parts per million.
Know the symptoms, keep your furnace in good shape, and don't seal your home too tight in the winter.
