Kennewick firefighters said a generator was discovered running inside the living room, causing unsafe levels of carbon monoxide in the home.
KENNEWICK, Wash. – Two people were taken to the hospital early Friday morning for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Fire crews from the Kennewick Fire Department were dispatched to the 600 block of South Fir Street just after 6:30 a.m.
A neighbor had called for help after finding three people in the home were not alert and going in and out of consciousness. The neighbor helped get the three people out of the home by the time the first KFD crew arrived within five minutes of the call.
An EMS crew began helping two people outside the home; the third person had allegedly left the area before help arrived.
Fire crews began investigating and discovered a generator was running inside the living room.
Using a gas monitor, fire crews discovered there was a reading of over 160 parts per million (ppm) of carbon monoxide in the front doorway. According to the WHO, in indoor environments, 9-10 ppm is safe, but for no more than eight hours. According to the WHO, people can withstand 25-35 ppm but for no more than one hour.
KFD crews said this caused the call to be upgraded to add more fire and medical resources to the scene. All neighboring apartment units within the home needed to be checked and anyone in those apartments needed to be checked by EMS for signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. According to the KFD, it turned out that no other persons living in the surrounding apartments needed medical care.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas. The KFD said people should only use generators according to the instructions and always run them outside, far away from buildings. According to the EPA, deadly levels of carbon monoxide can quickly build up in homes, garages, crawlspaces, sheds or other enclosed areas. The carbon monoxide can also linger for hours, even after the generator has been shut off.
ALSO ON YAKTRINEWS.COM:
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY YAKTRINEWS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.