A couple in west-central Minnesota were airlifted for treatment after an apparent carbon monoxide leak inside their home.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to the residence in Garfield late Sunday night after a 47-year-old woman reported she thought she was having a heart attack.
While on the line with a dispatcher, the woman then noticed her husband, 49, was also suffering from a possible seizure.
“Recognizing the symptoms described could indicate carbon monoxide exposure, dispatchers immediately instructed both individuals to exit the residence as a precaution,” the sheriff’s office said.
First responders soon arrived and transported the couple to Alomere Hospital in nearby Alexandria. They were eventually flown to another facility. Their conditions have not been released.
The sheriff’s office said the couple had just turned on their furnace for the first time this season. A technician later “detected dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide” inside the residence, most likely from a furnace and water heater “out of code compliance.”
More than 400 Americans die from accidental CO poisoning every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and another 14,000 people are hospitalized.
Experts advise homeowners to install carbon monoxide detectors “near every sleeping area,” and check the devices regularly.
Homeowners with oil and gas furnaces are also urged to have the appliances inspected annually.
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