WASHINGTON — A person was hospitalized Tuesday night after passing out from carbon monoxide poison in a home in Northwest D.C.
At about 10:30 p.m., D.C. fire and emergency medical services were dispatched to a home on Adams Street Northwest in response to reports of a downed person. When firefighters entered the home, their body-worn carbon monoxide detectives activated. The firefighters put on protective gear and re-entered the home, where they found one person unconscious.
The victim was transported to the hospital in serious condition. EMS is evaluating the condition of a second occupant in the home.
High readings of carbon monoxide were confirmed inside the home, and a preliminary investigation involving hazmat teams revealed the source of the poisonous gas to be a faulty furnace.
“This reiterates the need for people to have working carbon monoxide detectors in their homes,” said Vito Maggiolo, the public information officer for the D.C. Fire Department. “That’s going to be the early warning for [carbon monoxide], which is a colorless, odorless product which we call a ‘silent killer.'”
D.C. Fire and Rescue tweeted a warning Tuesday night describing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and urging people to invest in carbon monoxide detectors.
Update CO incident unit block Adams St NW. #DCsBravest confirm defective furnace as source. Ventilating structure and EMS evaluating 2nd occupant. Carbon Monoxide is a colorless odorless “silent killer.” A carbon monoxide detector provides a lifesaving early warning. pic.twitter.com/CLgCxWu1qd
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) December 12, 2018
