Response to Carbon Monoxide Emergency Teaches Valuable Safety Lesson

FDNY ambulance with a CO meter that all FDNY members wear (inset).

FDNY members responded to a carbon monoxide (CO) emergency on Vyse Avenue in the Bronx on Jan. 10. It was a dangerous situation made worse by the fact that simple safety measures were overlooked.

"CO is odorless and colorless, and if you are in such an environment for a period of time, you can die," said EMS Deputy Chief Howard Sickles. "This [emergency] demonstrates that CO alarms are very important, as is following directions from public safety representatives."

The first call to 911 was made at around 2 a.m., with two occupants stating that they thought they were having asthma attacks.

When EMTs arrived, their CO meters rang. After doing a few medical tests, they recognized that the victims had difficulty breathing due to CO poisoning rather than asthma.

They transported the two adults and one child to St. Barnabas Hospital, as firefighters shut down the faulty boiler - which was found to be the source of the high CO readings - and vented the building.

When the victims were evaluated at St. Barnabas, they were instructed to go to Jacobi Hospital to be treated in the hospital's hyperbaric chamber. When a victim has high-levels of CO in the blood, the CO has attached itself to the red blood cell, preventing the uptake of oxygen. A hyperbaric chamber will compress the CO off the red blood cell.

EMTs were called back to the building on Vyse Avenue at around 8 a.m. and found that someone had restarted the faulty boiler, filling the residence with CO again.

Of the 23 people living in the residence, 15 were transported to Jacobi Hospital, including several children. The three victims who were transported at 2 a.m. were among those transported the second time, still ill after not following doctors orders to visit Jacobi Hospital.

Firefighters again turned off the boiler and vented the building. Representatives from Con Edison also responded to disable the boiler until it is repaired.

"Your brain needs oxygen and sugar to survive. If you're going to stay [in a CO-rich environment], you're taking away your oxygen," Chief Sickles said. And beyond the critical importance of having CO alarms in the home, he also stressed, "If the boiler is disconnect it is done for a reason."

Learn more about the dangers of CO and how you can protect your family.