“Anything that burns fossil fuels puts out carbon monoxide,” Lynch said. Generators and other such devices, used to provide electricity or heat, should not be used inside a home, he said, and should have good ventilation.
Lynch said the Harrison Twp. Fire Department has been using a hand-held device known as a carbon-hemoglobin tester to test a person’s blood oxygen level, and were able to determine that the man had carbon monoxide poisoning. He was transported to Kettering Medical Center.
Lynch said he did not have word on the man’s condition, though he did not believe it was critical, as the man was breathing normally and standing outside his home when fire fighters arrived.
The fire department got two of the carbon-hemoglobin testers, which cost about $4,000 apiece, through a government grant about three years ago, Lynch said. They have used them on numerous occasions, one just weeks ago, when a family of three suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty furnace.
The devices allow firefighters to give the hospital a heads-up on the patient’s blood oxygen level before he or she arrives, Lynch said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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