Merritt Township, MI — A Bay County couple was hospitalized after “an extremely high” level of carbon monoxide filled their home.

Just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9, Bay County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a house on South Knight Road in Merritt Township after a 62-year-old woman there called 911 saying she and her 64-year-old husband had woken up feeling dizzy and sick, said Sheriff Troy R. Cunningham.

When deputies arrived, they found the woman’s husband lying on the floor. Both residents were overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning, deputies determined.

Deputies began airing out the home and managed to get both residents out of the house.

The couple was taken to Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw for further treatment, though they are expected to survive, the sheriff said.

Two deputies who had entered the house visited McLaren Bay Region hospital for precautionary evaluations and later returned to finish working their shifts, Cunningham said.

The house is heated by propane and there was a possible defect in its furnace, the sheriff said.

“Rescue personnel checking the house found it had 1,700 parts per million carbon monoxide, which is extremely high,” Cunningham said.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission states that when carbon monoxide levels increase beyond 70 parts per million, people may notice headaches, fatigue, and nausea.

Cunningham said the house did not have any carbon monoxide detectors. He advised Bay County residents to have working detectors in their homes and to frequently check their batteries.

Deputies were assisted at the scene by the Hampton Township Public Safety Department, the Merritt Township Fire Department, and Medstar Ambulance.