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Richard Piatt ReportingThree adults and nine children came very close to death in Salt Lake City tonight. A call to the fire department saved their lives.
The furnace at their house went out about three weeks ago, and with the colder temperatures the father turned to an alternative source for heat -- a charcoal burning grill.
There were no windows open or any ventilation and the grill quickly burned up most of the oxygen in the house, leaving very high levels of carbon monoxide.
The original 9-1-1 call was for a person who had fallen down. When firefighters arrived, the adults and children were all down on the floor or on chairs and no one was talking. The firefighters saw the charcoal grill and quickly realized what was going on.
Scott Freitag, Salt Lake City Fire Dept.: "Quick thinking by the firefighters tonight. They saw the grill, they noticed the sick kids, got lots of help here, got everyone to the hospital. They should be okay."
Firefighters measured the C-O level at 400 parts per million, which is easily capable of causing death. In fact, following the big Christmas blackout another family in the same neighborhood heated their home with a charcoal grill for just over an hour and a little girl in the home nearly died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Bottom line: The three adults and nine children taken to the hospital tonight are truly lucky to be alive.
This a stark reminder of how NOT to heat your home and why a carbon monoxide detector should be standard equipment in every home or apartment.
