Mass. firefighters rescue sickened mother, baby

By Fred Hanson
The Patriot Ledger

RANDOLPH, Mass. — A 19-year-old Randolph woman and her 3-week-old child were rescued from carbon monoxide fumes inside their home Sunday night.

"If they had gone to bed, they may not have awakened in the morning," based on the carbon monoxide levels inside the house, firefighter Thomas Binnall said.

Firefighters were called to the house at 6 Edwin St. at 8:43 p.m. Sunday on a report of the 19-year-old woman having a diabetic emergency.

Binnall said that when firefighters reached the home, they evaluated the woman and found her symptoms were unrelated to diabetes. After hearing that work had recently been done on the heating system, Binnall said they brought in carbon monoxide detectors.

"As soon as we went into the front door, the alarms went off on our carbon monoxide meters," Binnall said.

Using a portable testing device in the ambulance, Binnall said the CO level in the woman's blood was 36 parts per million. A blood level of 50 parts per million is considered fatal, he said.

Carbon monoxide poisoning tends to be more serious in the very young and very old, Binnall said.

The woman and her baby were taken by fire department ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital. Their names and conditions were not available.

Binnall said the mother and child had been home much of the day, and other family members had come home shortly before firefighters were called.

The furnace or the hot water heater is the suspected source of the gas, he said.

Under Nicole's Law, carbon monoxide detectors are required in homes.

The law is named for Nicole Garofalo, who died in January 2005 after a blizzard plugged a furnace vent pipe at her home. The law was passed later that year.

Binnall said no working carbon monoxide detectors could be found in the home.

Fire Chief Charles Foley said the department "tries to make people aware of the importance of carbon monoxide detectors."

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