Bourne, MA – A man from Buzzards Bay owes his life to a Bourne police officer who pulled him to safety after the man was overcome by carbon monoxide fumes in the garage at his home on Old Plymouth Road.
The officer definitely saved his life. There was no one else at home at the time, Bourne Police Lieutenant Brandon M. Esip said.
Lt. Esip said that Patrolman Peter E. Blake III drove by the victim’s house around 1:50 AM on Wednesday. Ptl. Blake, a five-year veteran of the Bourne Police Department, noticed the door of a van parked in the driveway was open. The patrolman thought it looked suspicious, Lt. Esip said.
Ptl. Blake went up to the house to check with the owner, but no one answered his knock at the door. That is when he smelled exhaust fumes. He followed the smell to the garage, where he found the victim unconscious on the floor. Police believe the man may have been overcome by the fumes while moving the van and a car that was turned on inside the garage.
Lt. Esip said that there was no indication how long the man had been down, but the car was warm to the touch.
The lieutenant said the carbon monoxide levels inside the house were very high, but there was no sound inside the house from carbon monoxide detectors going off. It was unclear whether the house had any detectors, but the carbon monoxide levels would have set off alarms, if there were any, he said.
Lt. Esip said the victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment.