Lynnwood, WA- By April Zepeda, KOMO-TV -A Lynnwood couple is lucky to be alive, after bringing a propane grill indoors to cook a meal.
The carbon monoxide levels were so high, medics on the scene needed to get treatment themselves.
It happened at a Lynnwood apartment complex. The woman lost consciousness first. The man was barely awake when fire fighters arrived.
When medics took of their masks to talk to the man, they too were affected.
“What you can do is give them oxygen and we did,” said Lynnwood Fire Chief Gary Olsen. “A physician checked out their symptoms, they were fine and they returned to duty.”
After 30 years on the job, Lynnwood Fire Chief Gary Olson says he’s still trying to get the message out: Barbecues, grills and heaters meant for the outdoors can be deadly indoors.
Earlier this year, five kids and four adults were hospitalized in Seattle with carbon monoxide poisoning. They brought a grill inside to keep warm. Doctors determined that one more hour of exposure and the family might not have survived.
Carbon monoxide is responsible for more deaths than any other single poison. Some 450 Americans die each year and another 40,000 go to the emergency room because of it.