Family seriously injured in Long Island carbon monoxide accident

A woman and two children suffered carbon monoxide poisoning last week in Dix Hills, Suffolk County, NY. The accident occurred at a residential home located on Pineland Court.  A crew of workers were doing some roofing work while a mother and her two children were inside the house. The roofers used a generator that was positioned too close to the door causing fumes to get in the house and poisoned the family. The woman and the two children started to get really dizzy and she called 911. When EMS arrived the 3 of them could not walk anymore and firefighters found a vey high level of carbon monoxide in the house. The mother and her children were transported to the hospital to be treated.

The silent killer

Carbon Monoxide is an invisible gas that has no smell and no color and therefore is  very hard to detect by human. It is deadly. Firefighters nickname it “the silent killer”.  This why in New York State, it is required by law that any house or apartment with at least one fuel-burning appliance or heater has working carbon monoxide detectors installed. The following precautions should be taken to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning:

• Never use a generator indoor and make sure it is placed away from doors and windows
• Never use a gas stove or oven range to heat the house
• Don’t operate gasoline powered equipment in confined space such as a garage
• Don’t leave a car idling in a garage
• Don’t use a propane or kerosene space heater in the house
• Make sure that if you used a chimney, fuel burning appliances or home heating system they are cleaned up and tuned up annually by someone qualified

If all of sudden several people in the same confined space are affected by similar symptoms of dizziness, headache or confusion you should immediately suspect a carbon monoxide poisoning and call 911.