Nanuet, NY – A family of seven including three young children was evacuated from a Louise Place home and taken to the hospital after they were sickened by carbon monoxide early Monday, authorities said.
A malfunctioning furnace leaked the potentially deadly, odorless gas through the single-story house at 9 Louise Place, Spring Valley Deputy Fire Chief Ken Sohlman said.
Initially, one woman was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital with head pain after vomiting, Clarkstown Police Sgt. Jo Anne Fratianni said. She became ill about 5:55 a.m. About 10:15 a.m., five more family members were transported to Westchester Medical Center in Valhala with similar symptoms, she said.
Those included the children ages 3, 6, and 9 and two adults, ages 32 and 64, she said. A seventh family member was also taken to a hospital after returning home.
Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc. responded with 10 Spring Valley Fire Department volunteers and Clarkstown police. Firefighters vented the house.
Sohlman said initial readings show 100 parts per million of carbon monoxide in the home’s first floor. He said the norm is below 10 parts per million.
He said the children seemed like they would be fine.
“When we got here they were outside in the fresh air and they were hopping around like kids do,” Sohlman said.
Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of burning fuels such as gasoline, oil, kerosene, wood or charcoal. The odorless, colorless gas can become lethal within minutes, depending on the levels and the person’s physical condition.
It can cause symptoms, including headaches, at levels of 50 parts per million. Detectors are usually programmed to sound an alarm when levels reach 35 parts per million. Levels in the hundreds are deadly.
A Chestnut Ridge man found dead in his home in November 2011 was poisoned by carbon monoxide from a generator being used to heat his home during a power outage, officials said. During the same outage, two Spring Valley adults and six children, including an infant, were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning from propane heaters and charcoal they were using to cook food inside a Washington Street house.