Washington, DC – WASHINGTON, D.C. (WUSA9)–In the District, firefighters raced to the scene of a carbon monoxide leak at a Northwest Washington home.
Three people were taken to the hospital suffering from life-threatening effects of the gas. The incident happened in the 51-hundred block of New Hampshire Avenue.
From the outside, this Northwest Washington home looks like it’s ready for the holidays. But inside, according to DC Fire and EMS, a potentially deadly gas escaped from a faulty water heater.
“It’s sad to hear that your neighbor has some kind of injury or something. It’s very sad,” said Reza Gsazabi, who lives next door to the victims.
He was among the neighbors who witnessed three of the residents transported to George Washington University Hospital.
When haz mat crews arrived on the scene, they found carbon monoxide readings of 300 parts per million. Firefighters say that’s not particularly high, but the residents were apparently exposed to it for a long time.
Firefighters tested adjacent homes and gave them the all clear.
“They came to our house and check everywhere and it wasn’t from our house. They said it’s okay. They put fan in and get the air out,” said Gsazabi.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that kills 400 people in the United States every year and hospitalizes 4,000.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, dizziness, nausea, chest pain and confusion. In home carbon monoxide detectors sell for as little as twenty dollars.