Albany, NY – It was 15 degrees when emergency responders were called to 108 Second Ave. at 10:30p.m. Thursday.An entire family felt faint and complained of head and stomach pains.When rescue workers arrived they found the home was being heated with the gas cooking range and oven which were emitting dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
“Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless. You wouldn’t know if you had a build up,” explained Actting Albany Acting Fire Chief Warren Abriel.
According to Albany’s commissioner of code enforcement, inspectors found the heat was working.The landlord, however, was served a notice of violation because the kitchen appliances weren’t vented properly.A second citation indicates there was only one carbon monoxide detector, which isn’t enough for the size of the home.
“Especially with this serious cold spell, people tighten up their house and get all the heat they can and that doesn’t get you proper ventilation,” Abriel said.
The fire chief adds that this incident should serve as an important reminder to make sure you have working — and the proper number — of CO detectors, don’t supplement heat with appliances, and check that heating units are working properly.
“Especially at that point in the evening. If you went to bed you would basically pass away in the night,” he said.
The family has been temporarily relocated until the landlord can fix the problems.City officials hope the family can move back in by mid-day on Friday.