While doing Home Fire Safety Checks on Roche road, Bugle, St Austell, on Friday afternoon, five firefighters from St Austell came across a family who they thought were showing signs of suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
A member of the family, a young child, had been suffering from headaches.
The firefighters used a gas detector and found that there was 54 parts per million of carbon monoxide in the property, a figure above the safety level as specified by the Health and Safety Executive.
An ambulance attended and treated the family on scene.
Fire crews established that a woodburner was the source of the carbon monoxide. The fire in the burner was extinguished and crews ventilated the property.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, poisonous gas produced by incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels, including gas, oil, wood and coal.
Carbon-based fuels are safe to use. It is only when the fuel does not burn properly that excess CO is produced, which is poisonous.
When CO enters the body, it prevents the blood from bringing oxygen to cells, tissues, and organs.
According to the NHS, more than 50 people die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning every year, and 200 people are left seriously ill.
A member of the family, a young child, had been suffering from headaches.
The firefighters used a gas detector and found that there was 54 parts per million of carbon monoxide in the property, a figure above the safety level as specified by the Health and Safety Executive.
An ambulance attended and treated the family on scene.
Fire crews established that a woodburner was the source of the carbon monoxide. The fire in the burner was extinguished and crews ventilated the property.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, poisonous gas produced by incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels, including gas, oil, wood and coal.
Carbon-based fuels are safe to use. It is only when the fuel does not burn properly that excess CO is produced, which is poisonous.
When CO enters the body, it prevents the blood from bringing oxygen to cells, tissues, and organs.
According to the NHS, more than 50 people die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning every year, and 200 people are left seriously ill.
