Dayton, OH – A West Fifth Street home was evacuated Wednesday afternoon when Dayton firefighters found dangerous levels of carbon monoxide inside.
Three people were tested and treated after they were exposed to the gas.
The incident happened just days after three teens were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in Troy.
“I said something wasn’t right,” said Chiquita Blanton, a resident at the home that was evacuated.
Blanton called 9-1-1 Thursday afternoon.
“And what’s going on there?” the dispatcher said on the call, “I just wanted to make sure these carbon monoxide levels are down because I got a little headache,” Blanton replied.
“I kept sleeping you know,” she told reporter Kelly May in an interview, “And I kept wanting to sleep but then I woke up but I wanted to go back to sleep so something just told me to get up.”
After learning what was going on, Blanton said she was thanking her lucky stars she did wake up, and spring to action.
Dayton firefighters evacuated her home when they found unhealthy levels of the lethal gas in the basement.
“But it hadn’t made its way upstairs yet, luckily I made that call,” Blanton said.
Even though firefighters didn’t detect dangerous levels on the home’s main floor, the gas was making Blanton sick all the way up in her second story bedroom, and was possibly leaking for days.
“My son had symptoms he said he threw up last night,” Blanton explained, “And his girlfriend, she was pregnant so they took her for precautions just to make sure she and the baby were okay.”
Crews shut off gas lines to the home’s furnace and water heater.
“They had to have masks on so they opened up all the windows and everything,” said Blanton.
Fire investigators allowed she and her family back inside, with the premise that a professional would be called right away to assess her furnace and chimney.
Blanton said she only knew something was wrong because she’s has carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms before.
The home did not have carbon monoxide detectors.
“Luckily it wasn’t worse than what it was,” Blanton said.
Fire officials had not determined a source for the leak as of Wednesday evening.
Everyone exposed to the gas is expected to be okay.