A family in Plymouth, Massachusetts, was rushed to the hospital Friday after suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning in their own home after they turned the heat on for the first time this season.
Jason Nali and his wife, Britney, rushed to his uncle's house in after hearing his aunt, grandmother, uncle and his uncle's their three dogs were exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide.
The family believes the carbon monoxide became concentrated inside the house after a blocked chimney trapped the exhaust from the heat inside the house. The family members are currently recovering at the hospital and the dogs are staying at the vet for 24 hours.
“Two of them, their levels seem to be coming down, one of them their levels are not, so he has to go into a hyperbaric chamber. He could have heart damage, they’re worried about brain damage, you know it can affect your organs, so they’re worried about all of that,” Nali said.
Despite the scare, the situation could have been a lot worse.
“Anytime you see something like that, you’re always worried, you know, that it could be something fatal,” Steve Madden, a neighbor of the family, said.
"It's scary because you can't smell it, you can't see it, you know the alarm did go off," said Jason Nali.
The State Fire Marshal says heating is the No. 1 cause of elevated carbon monoxide levels inside a home, which is why this time of the year poses the most danger.
To avoid a CO scare, you should check your detectors every few years and give your furnace a tune-up before turning your heat on for the first time in the season.
Nali says he's just thankful his family made it out alive, and is now hoping his uncle will recover soon.
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