Burley, ID – A 14-year-old girl called 911 from a Burley house early Tuesday and alerted officials that her family was ill from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Callie Neal and her mother, Jill Zacharias, 45, and Zacharias’ boyfriend, Carlos Ramirez, 41, all were rescued from a house filled with poisonous gas at 1226 Occidental Ave., reported the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office.
“The call came in from the daughter in the home, and then they lost contact with her,” said Burley Fire Chief Shannon Tolman.
A deputy who went to the back door heard someone gasping for breath, and another officer kicked in the front door. The home was “heavily contaminated with the exhaust from the generator,” a sheriff’s report said.
Three deputies found Zacharias passed out in the south bedroom on the main floor, Ramirez unconscious on the living room floor, and Callie in the kitchen, gasping for air.
The family had just moved to Burley and did not have the power turned on yet. They were running a gas-powered generator in the basement for the night and planned to have the power turned on Tuesday, said Tolman.
Ramirez told deputies he didn’t know that generators produce poisonous gasses.
All three victims were taken to Cassia Regional Medical Center, then flown by air ambulance to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Hospital spokeswoman Jenny Jones said she couldn’t confirm their admittance or provide the patients’ conditions. Patients can opt out of inclusion in the hospital’s registry, thus barring release of information about them, she said.
The three deputies who entered the house and carried the victims out went to Cassia Regional Medical Center for observation, said Undersheriff George Warrell. They were all treated and released.
Firefighters responded to the call initially but waited for deputies to ensure the scene was safe before entering.
A neighbor offered to take care of Zacharias’ three dogs and cat until they return.