Belfast firefighter responds to carbon monoxide call on snowmobile

In the middle of a snowstorm, Belfast Fire Department's Joe MacIsaac responded to a carbon monoxide call early Tuesday morning in Flat River not in a fire truck, but on his snowmobile.

'I'm no hero'

"I'm no hero, that's for sure. It's just something I do. I like to help people,"said MacIsaac, a volunteer firefighter with the department.

MacIsaac heard the call at around 1:30 a.m. He lives about a mile from the home in Flat River, so he hopped on his snowmobile and drove 10 minutes across a field to the home near High Road and the Trans-Canada Highway intersection.

"I knew none of the rest of the firemen could get there because of the storm," he said.

MacIsaac said he wasn't sure where he was because it was snowing so hard. But he was able to find the home and Eunice and Cecil Hughes and the homeowner's dog sitting in a car with the hazard lights on.

Carbon monoxide detector

The couple were taking care of the house while the owner was away when they heard the carbon monoxide detector activated in the basement and called the fire department.

"We saw someone coming with a ski-doo,"said Eunice. "We were glad to see him because we knew it would be taken care of. But, you know, I was scared that carbon monoxide was going all through the house."

MacIsaac took the detector upstairs and checked the reading. He suspected snow was blocking the home's flue pipe plug or vent. Cecil had already cleared snow from the areaand MacIsaac told the couple to open the windows and air out the home. He left when it was safe.

The next morning, MacIsaac hopped on his snowmobile again and returned to the home to check on the couple.

"It was so nice of him to come back and be so concerned,"said Eunice.

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