Balky heating system eyed in carbon monoxide evac

Staff Reports


CENTER LEBANON - A Center Lebanon family was treated for symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning after Lebanon Fire and Lebanon Rescue crews responded to their home for a carbon monoxide alarm.

The family of five left the house after hearing the alarm around 7:30 p.m.

Lebanon Fire equipment recorded high levels of the poisonous gas in the upstairs where the two victims most affected had been when the alarm went off, according to a press release from Lebanon Rescue.

The two departments stayed on hand about an hour.

A fault in a propane heating system is suspected in the incident.

Carbon monoxide, an odorless, tasteless, and colorless gas, is known as the "silent killer." The Centers for Disease Control estimates that carbon monoxide poisoning claims nearly 400 lives, and causes more than 20,000 visits to hospital emergency departments annually.