“I couldn’t move. I had a headache so bad, I couldn’t even move,” said Ernest Dixon.
Dixon, his girlfriend and five kids ages 15 months to 12-years-old, barely escaped their St. Petersburg home Friday morning after carbon monoxide poisoned them.
Dixon said he set up a generator in the garage to power the home until payday, when he could get his electricity back on.
Even with two windows open in the garage, the CO still made it’s way inside.
Fortunately, Ernest woke up and everyone got out.
“By time I reached the front door I passed out,” he said.
The Consumer Product safety commission reported 170 people die every year from CO poisoning.
The gas comes from furnaces, ranges, water heaters, fireplaces..and portable generators.“It’s orderless, tasteless, it’s called the silent killer,” said Pasco County fire chief Andy Fossa.
Fossa said carbon monoxide detectors are a must in any home.
“They are relatively cheap and the price you pay for that, is better than paying for a price with your life,” he said.
Chief Fossa said he’s noticed a trend in people getting poisoned by electric golf carts left charging in garages.
“They don’t realize those batteries are off-gasing, and carbon monoxide is one of the those off-gasing chemicals that can come out of a battery,” he said.
If CO levels are high, you might notice headaches, fatigue, or shortness of breath.
But if you are sleeping, you might never know until it’s too late.
“I’m just happy that we are all ok. Everybody is ok, and nobody got hurt,” said Dixon.
If you think you might have been exposed to carbon monoxide, get to fresh air and call 911.
