East Deer, PA – An East Deer couple are recovering after a scare inside their home Friday morning.
Firefighters got a call around 6 a.m. when a woman found her husband on the floor of their Parsonage Street home and called 911. The man had a medical condition and was unconscious, lying in the hallway.
Crews went inside and discovered high-levels of carbon monoxide throughout the home.
“When EMS units arrived, their CO alarms on their carry-backs went off, and they alerted us to come,” East Deer Fire Chief Jack Bailie said.
Firefighters searched the house and soon discovered readings at twice what’s considered a safe level of carbon monoxide. The highest reading was detected in the basement, between the hot water tank and the furnace.
“I don’t think their furnace is getting them any trouble. They never said anything,” neighbor Loretta Kresiak said.
The home had no carbon monoxide detectors.
Firefighters opened the windows and the doors to ventilate the home. The gas was also shut off.
“I asked if it was a gas leak and they said, ‘No, it was carbon monoxide.’ I’m shocked,” Kresiak said.
The wife was treated and released. Her husband remains in the hospital for his medical condition. Neither of them had carbon monoxide poisoning.
Firefighters said that if they weren’t called, there’s no telling how long the problem could have gone undetected at the home.
The gas company tagged the water heater and the furnace, both of which will need to be repaired. No other homes on the street were affected.