4 treated after CO scare in Swansea

SWANSEA, MASS. (WPRI) -- Tragedy was narrowly averted Saturday morning after a carbon monoxide emergency at a Swansea home.

Fire Chief Peter Burke tells Eyewitness News that they received a call at around 9 a.m. from residents who felt ill.  The dispatcher who took the call determined that it might be a case of carbon monoxide poisoning, since everyone was showing similar symptoms, and firefighters and medical personnel quickly responded to the Cummings Road home.

Two adults and two children were hospitalized with possible CO poisoning.  All are expected to recover.

Firefighters found a malfunctioning gas-fired boiler was emitting the gas, and the CO levels within the home were above 500 parts per million - a very high reading that actually forced firefighters to go on their own oxygen supplies went they went inside.  Crews ventilated the home and shut down the heating system.

Burke said that there was a carbon monoxide detector in the home, but it was 12 years old and not functioning properly.  Burke recommends that detectors be replaced every seven years, or per the manufacturer's instructions.