Carbon monoxide leak forces evacuation of Waterloo family home

Fire authorities in Waterloo are asking families to make sure their home is equipped with a working carbon monoxide detector after a family of four was rushed to hospital for poisoning from deadly gas.

An ambulance was dispatched to the home on Helene Crescent, in the city's University Ave. and Erb St. West area at about 9 o'clock on Tuesday morning.

"They were lucky," John Percy, the public education officer for Waterloo Fire and Rescue said Wednesday. "Thank goodness it was the time of day they recognized they were not feeling well and they had flu-like symptoms, they called 911 and we got them out, which is great."

"If this had occurred in the middle of the night what would have happened to the family is those carbon monoxide levels would have increased and over time you could potentially havehad a family fatality here."

They were lucky ... you could have had a potential family fatality here.- John Percy, public education officer for Waterloo Fire and Rescue

Firefighters credit quick-thinking paramedics with Waterloo Region EMS for averting disaster.

"They identified and realized it was true carbon monoxide poisoning, thank goodness," Percy said, noting the medical crew wasfirst to enterthe home and registered carbon monoxide levels at 536 parts per million.

"So at that level, you're going to get good headaches within an hour or two, anything at about 400," Percy said. "The next kind of severe level is 800 ppm [you get] severe dizziness and nausea within 45 minutes of being exposed to it."

Four people rushed to hospital

Once paramedics learned the air was saturated with dangerous levels of the gas, they evacuated the home, taking two parents and two children to hospital to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, according to firefighters.

Using respirators, firefighters and a crew from Union Gas entered the home and found the cause of the leak was a faulty furnace.

Fire authorities are still investigating whether the family had a working carbon monoxide detector.

"That's part of our investigation right now," Percy said. "There was one there. We're trying to pinpoint whether it was operational at the time under the Ontario Fire Code."

If it turns out the detector was operational, but wasn't plugged in the family could potentially face a fine.

Percy urges all families to use the story as a cautionary tale, to check to see if carbon monoxide detectors are working properly and if they don't have one, to go out and get one.

"It's law in Ontario that you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home and a working carbon monoxide alarm near the sleeping area in the hallway because when we're sleeping we're most vulnerable," he said.