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WEST VALLEY CITY — A teenager was found unconscious Thursday and a second teen was close to unconscious in their mobile home due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
"She couldn't stand up, couldn't walk and couldn't follow directions," West Valley Fire Marshal Bob Fitzgerald said of the young female victim.
A 17-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl were transported to Intermountain Medical Center. Fitzgerald said at last word, the conditions of the teens "had improved," but he did not have any details.
A third child, an approximately 12-year-old boy, was also inside the mobile home at the time, but he did not suffer injuries as serious as the others.
She couldn't stand up, couldn't walk and couldn't follow directions.
–West Valley Fire Marshal Bob Fitzgerald
The incident began about 9 a.m. when the mother of the teens returned home, near 3250 W. 2800 South, from work and found her son passed out on the floor. She immediately called 911.
If the mother hadn't come home, Fitzgerald said it could have been a very different outcome.
Emergency crews later discovered the floor below the water heater had rotted out, causing the water heater to drop and the ventilation pipe to fall off, Fitzgerald said. The water heater was in the same room as the two teens.
The incident serves as a good reminder for everyone to have their appliances checked regularly and to purchase a CO detector, Fitzgerald said.
