Worcester, MA – WORCESTER Three Worcester residents were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning after a man found his parents unconscious inside their Donna Road home, according to the Worcester Fire Department.
Firefighters were called to the scene at 8 Donna Road at approximately 9:15 p.m. after Brad Berk, a resident of the home, reported a strong odor of gas.
Berk removed his parents, identified by fire officials as Andrea and Steven Berk, from the home prior to firefighters’ arrival.
All three were transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center University Campus and were released on Tuesday morning, according to hospital officials.
“The first officer on scene used his carbon monoxide detector and found a reading of 1,200 parts per million outside the door of the home,” said Deputy Fire Chief Geoffrey Gardell. “Upon entering the building, it was over 2,000 parts per million.”
Gardell noted 2,000 parts per million is as high as the detector can read. He added they also found so much carbon monoxide that oxygen was being displaced, with oxygen levels at 19 percent rather than the norm of 21 percent.
There were no carbon monoxide detectors in the home, Gardell said.
Police will be investigating the source of the carbon monoxide and the circumstances of the incident. Gardell noted there was a car in the garage with the key in the ignition, but he said it wasn’t running.
“It was very warm in the garage and levels were very high in the garage, as well,” Gardell said. “I can’t speculate on the vehicle, but it’s something we’d be looking in to.”