Lock Haven, PA – Rescue workers from the Goodwill Hose Company of Flemington and local ambulance crews carried an unconscious elderly couple out of a home filled with potentially deadly toxic fumes early Saturday.
That toxic cloud was carbon monoxide – an odorless, colorless and toxic gas that is impossible to see, taste or smell but is able to kill the unwary if it fills a home, according to Flemington Fire Chief Eric Brungard.
Brungard said the emergency call came in at about 11:23 a.m., requesting a medical response to 18 Pineview Drive.
“It was a carbon monoxide incident,” Brungard said. “We got there and found an elderly male and an elderly female both inside the house and both unresponsive … Given the seriousness of the situation we didn’t even wait for the stretchers. We carried them out right away.”
After carrying the couple out of the house, volunteers re-entered the ranch-style home armed with gas measuring devices and discovered very high levels of CO in the residence – 450 parts per million, Brungard said.
According to experts, levels up to nine parts per million present no health risk and represent normal CO levels in the air. Levels as small as 10 to 35 parts per million can cause problems over the long term, including headaches and nausea, or flu-like symptoms.