Emergency crews called to townhouse, seven suffer carbon monoxide poisoning

Seven suffer carbon monoxide poisoning CTV News has learned a unit where seven suffered carbon monoxide poisoning, were on a waiting list for a CO detector.

Emergency officials said that more than half a dozen people suffered carbon monoxide poisoning Friday morning.

Officials said one man came home to his townhouse in the area of 105 Street and 38 Avenue, to find six family members ill inside, the man called 911 before getting sick as well.

“Initially there were flu-like symptoms and we evacuated those seven patients and determined carbon monoxide was indeed the issue with the patients,” Captain Justin Knapik with Edmonton Fire Rescue said.

Knapik said late Friday morning that the family members suffered varying degrees of carbon monoxide poisoning.

“If the levels were high enough and there was enough time involved, it could even prove to be fatal,” Knapik said.

As a result of the incident, Knapik touted the importance of carbon monoxide detectors, especially at this time of year.

“A carbon monoxide detector is a valuable tool,” Knapik said. “It gives you the opportunity to have an early warning if there is a carbon monoxide issue.”

“Anytime in the autumn when you start to get those furnaces kicking on and starting to work hard you’ll find that you can have cracked heat exchangers happening, and that’s where we find carbon monoxide leaking into the homes.”

The unit is subsidized by the government; CTV News spoke with the CEO of the Capital Region Housing Corporation. Greg Dewling admitted the furnace in the home was outdated and faulty, and that a carbon monoxide detector is not the responsibility of the tenants.

“We have a plan to upgrade all of the units so that families can be safe, we certainly want all of our families to be safe, obviously the old furnace malfunctioned and we fixed that right away,” Dewling said.

Dewling said the family is set to return to the unit, and that new federal funding which was announced Friday morning, would go towards upgrades like new furnaces and detectors.

With files from David Ewasuk