St. Louis, MO – St. Louis firefighters rescued a family from their home which had filled with a deadly gas. Three people were inside, a 63-year-old woman, her 18-year-old grandson and the grandson’s girlfriend. Anthony Levy is the father of the teen.
Levy said, My son’s girlfriend told me she had passed out. Next thing you know he was running to the bathroom throwing up. He called the ambulance.
It happened in a home in the 4000 block of Darby when paramedics and firefighters arrived. They discovered the air inside was saturated with carbon monoxide.Fire Captain Garon Mosby said, Had they not called us and they continued to take in or absorb this carbon monoxide, it definitely would have had a more adverse effect over a longer time.
The three were rushed to Barnes Jewish Hospital.The air inside the home checked out at just under 200 parts per million, officials said 35 parts per million during a 8 hour period is the most anyone should be exposed to. Laclede gas crews showed up on the scene to investigate. Family members blame a broken furnace. They had been smelling gas inside the home.Anthony Levy said, I am lucky they’re alive because I could have walked in there, and all of them could have been dead.
If you don’t have a carbon monoxide alarm now is a good time to get one.There are still many cold days ahead this winter. Also, firefighters remind folks to have their furnace checked once a year to make sure it is operating safely.The fire captain said 500 people die each year in this country because of carbon monoxide poisoning.At last report, the 63-year-old woman and 18-year-old man were in good condition because of federal privacy laws it was not possible to learn the condition of the girlfriend.