Two people were taken to the hospital after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning Monday afternoon in Naples.
Naples Fire Chief Chris Pond said carbon monoxide levels inside the single-family home at 4 Bayou Road were dangerously high.
Pond said firefighters measured levels in the home that were close to 1,000 parts per million. Prolonged exposure to levels that high could potentially have been lethal.
“This (situation) was bad,” the fire chief said. “We had to assist one person from the home.”
A man and woman who live in the home were taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, but their conditions were unknown.
Pond said firefighters ventilated the house. He said propane was being used inside the home by the residents, but he was not sure for what purpose.
A dispatcher for the Cumberland County Communications Center said emergency responders were notified at 3:45 p.m. of a possible case of carbon monoxide poisoning. Pond said he believes that one of the residents called for help.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can build up indoors and poison people and animals that breathe it. The most common symptoms are headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain and confusion, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each year, more than 400 Americans die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, more than 20,000 people visit the emergency room, and more than 400 have to be hospitalized, according to the CDC.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
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