FREEPORT, Maine — A Freeport man is in the hospital in critical condition after his wife found him unconscious and their dog dead from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning, according to officials.
The wife went to the house, at 3 Woodside Lane in Freeport, shortly before 10:30 Saturday morning after the man did not show up for a meeting Saturday morning, according to Freeport Fire Department Deputy Chief Paul Conley.
When she stepped to the door she smelled a strong odor and realized she couldn’t go in, Conley said. She saw her husband unconscious on the floor upstairs and called 911.
The man was removed from the house by Freeport firefighters and taken to Maine Medical Center. The couple’s dog was given oxygen and taken to a veterinary hospital about 2 miles down the road but did not survive.
There was a large amount of carbon monoxide in the house, which may have been a result of incomplete combustion rather than a leak, according to Paul.
The Maine Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.
How sad, i hope your husband makes a full recovery, and so sorry to hear about your family pet :(
Huh? Poorly written. Where does she live?
How did she see her husband upstairs if she didn’t go in?
She did open the door and a lot of homes do have stairs right at the main entrance and if he was at the top she could have seen him with ease.
Maybe so, but the story is incomplete. Readers shouldn’t have to speculate. The reporter and copy editor should have asked how the wife could see her husband if she couldn’t enter the house and then put the reason in the story.
What matters is that she did see him and got help immediately.
Split level home maybe, or stairs may lead to a deck on the second floor…
If you’re looking for a gift for someone, spend 20 or 30 dollars and get them a carbon monoxide detector!
Excellent suggestion.
sounds like a furnace issue
Yes it does. I had a CO buildup, due to a lazy tech who did not clean my boiler correctly. I had a different HVAC company come clean it out, and they said it looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in years-but I had paid the lazy guy to “clean” for the previous 4 years! All readers, please make sure you and your loved ones all have working CO detectors!
Holiday gift idea!
Why do these people evidently have a combustion source inside the home and no CO detector?
These detectors used to cost upwards of fifty dollars and a lot of people decided they couldn’t afford them. As Kevin pointed out above they have come down in price over the last few years and every home should have at least one.
If reading the directions is difficult and I am the first to admit, they are not the easiest, then contact your local fire station and they will have someone give you directions for their installation.
If you cannot afford one for each level of your home make sure you have one near the bedrooms, at least. You should be able to hear the alarm all over your home, but nearest to the bedroom will hopefully assure you will also hear the one, if you are asleep.
I have a Carbon Monoxide detector…but have never been quite sure where to put it. Of course furnace is downstairs…Do I put it down there near the furnace….up the stairway…upstairs…all of the above? hahahahaahaha Too many choices, mayve I should get more than one or two!
At least one on every level is the best scenario. Should be one near the furnace. One the first floor in common living area. On second or third floors outside each bedroom or centrally located so all occupants can hear the alarm. They really don’t cost that much and your life is worth the few bucks you will invest.
They have come down in price a lot so there really is no excuse not to have them.
Absolutely. Now, in fact, you can buy a combo fire-carbon monoxide detector.
However, since plain smoke detectors are less expensive, at least have one or more of those on every level. Ideally a CO monitor should be on each level too. Your life is worth the money you will spend.
Even if they cost $100 each that’s nothing compared to one winter’s heating fuel costs, not to mention the fact that you won’t die from CO poisoning.
(Basic CO detectors are really only about $25)
Try reading the directions.
My prayers for the victim and his family. Hope he makes a speedy and full recovery.
co does not have an odor, what was causing the odor?
The CO2 is odorless but the unburned fuel that gets carried with it does.
Exhaust fumes from an oil burner have an odor. CO all by itself does not but is often contained in smoke and other fumes.