Rush City, MN – One Rush City area family is counting its blessings after escaping what has been called a silent killer.
If the snowstorm on Thursday evening, Feb. 20, wasn’t enough to deal with, this family of four thought of a number of reasons why they felt fatigued with headache and flu-like symptoms. Little did they know, the culprit was carbon monoxide poisoning a colorless, odorless, tasteless and toxic gas that can come from fuel-fired furnaces, gas water heaters, fireplaces and woodstoves, gas stoves and automobiles.
In this case, the source was a displaced exhaust pipe from a little efficiency heater, which is kept in a utility room and behind a closed door in the home’s lower level.
Members of the Rush City Fire Department responded to the family’s Rushseba Township residence after receiving a call for help around 8:50 p.m. Fire Chief Bob Carlson, who was able to talk to the family’s mother by phone prior to his arrival, made sure her two daughters, ages 16 and 12, and husband were out of the home and covered in blankets.