By Carla K. Johnson
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Most of the passengers treated at hospitals after the Chicago subway train derailment and fire this week suffered from smoke inhalation, a misunderstood condition that causes more deaths from fires than burns.
Smoke plays a deadly game with people escaping from fire, distorting their perception of time, enticing them with drowsiness and robbing them of oxygen.
About 5,000 people die annually from smoke inhalation, said Dr. Michael Silver, a lung specialist at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center. Smoke contains carbon monoxide and cyanide gas that choke off oxygen and poison tissues in the body.