A close call for a Lambeth couple has prompted the London Fire Department to issue a reminder about the importance of having working carbon monoxide alarms inside the home.
Dangerously high and life-threatening levels of CO recently filled the couple's Kirk Dr. home after their indoor swimming pool's natural gas heater malfunctioned. Fresh off a trip to Florida, Peter Banman switched on the pool heater so he and his wife could go for a swim the following morning.
While his wife slept, Banman read downstairs because he was unable to sleep. But when he tried to get up from his chair, he collapsed. Believing it was a stroke, he called for his wife who was unable to hear him. Banman crawled across the floor with great difficulty to open a door and again called for his sleeping wife.
Upon waking to his cries for help, Banman's wife quickly called 911.
When paramedics arrived, their carbon monoxide alarms immediately sounded, identifying the real cause of Banman's fall.
"There was a potential here for loss of life," said Deputy Fire Chief Jack Burt. "It just so happens that our partners at EMS are carrying carbon monoxide detection on their medical bags when they entered the house. They were aware of the situation very rapidly and were able to get these people the proper care they needed. Had they not been carrying those devices this could have been a very different story."
London firefighters tested the air in the home and found CO levels had soared to 650 parts per million, more than 21 times what is generally considered an acceptable level.
There was no warning about the dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide because the Banmans had mistakenly thought their smoke alarms were combination smoke-CO alarms.
Fire officials are hopeful the Banmans' brush with death will get other homeowners to double check that they have working CO alarms placed outside of their bedrooms.
"Had this homeowner stayed in bed and not gotten up in the middle of the night and fell, the only thing that would have protected them when they were sleeping was a carbon monoxide alarm outside their bedroom door," said Burt.
Carbon monoxide alarms are mandatory outside of sleeping areas in all residential homes in Ontario. The alarms are the only way to detect the invisible, tasteless, and odourless gas, which is often referred to as the silent killer.
Burt notes this is the time of year when firefighters see an increase in carbon monoxide related calls.
"People start turning on their furnaces , they start using their wood fireplaces, and heating their cars up in the attached garage. As a result of that we start to see increases of CO calls," said Burt. "The key to preventing a tragic situation is to make sure that you have a working CO alarm. Test it monthly and make sure you are changing batteries once a year if it requires batteries."