Suffolk, NY – Six family members from Middle Island went to the hospital Wednesday morning suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning after using a generator in their basement during a power outage, a hospital official said.
Four of them were being treated in the hyperbaric oxygen unit at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, hospital spokesman Stuart Vincent said midafternoon Wednesday.
One of the family members, a woman, woke up with a headache, Vincent said, and determined it must have been from the generator.
Suffolk County police said they got a 911 call at 5:04 a.m. from a Middle Island residence, requesting assistance for possible carbon monoxide sickness.
Three chiefs, two engines and two ambulances from the Middle Island Fire Department responded, as well as an ambulance from Coram, said Middle Island First Chief William Nevin, who was on the scene.
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The six people were transported in noncritical condition, with symptoms including headache and nausea, he said.
The basement was registering very dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, and he said thank God no one was in the basement, as the outcome could have been different.
Generators should always be kept outside a home and far enough away so exhaust won’t be pushed into the residence, he said. They should never be inside or even in an attached garage, he said.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year in the United States, more than 400 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning and 20,000 need to visit an emergency room.