Little Rock, AR – A Little Rock woman says her carbon monoxide detector saved her and her husband’s life.
“If we had been asleep and we hadn’t had that thing, we would have probably died in our sleep,” said Deborah Meldahl.
Her husband was home with her when their carbon monoxide detector sounded Sunday night.
“We couldn’t figure out what it was because we had forgotten it was there,” Meldahl said.
After hearing the buzzer, she called 911, and that’s when crews found problems in her attic.
“The guy went upstairs and said this furnace is shot. Your heat exchanger is cracked and that’s why it is leaking into your home,” Meldahl said.
So crews quickly shut it off.
Meldahl now says her 20-year-old alarm is a lifesaver.
Little Rock firefighters say if you have an alarm and it goes off, move quickly to prevent poisoning to you and your family.
“Don’t turn anything on, don’t use your cellphone or portable phone in the house. Get outside the house and get everybody out and then call 911,” said Cpt. Randy Hickman.
He adds after getting out safely, check for symptoms like nausea and dizziness.
Meldahl encourages others to purchase a detector.
“Definitely, buy one of those right away and plug it in because it can save your life. I am convinced it saved ours,” Meldahl said.
The Little Rock Fire Department offers free smoke and carbon monoxode detectors. Firefighters say they get donations from various agencies to give the detectors out.
So as long as there is a supply, citizens can get one at no charge. Simply call, 918-3710.