A local mom can’t stress enough how important it is to have working carbon monoxide detectors after her family avoided tragedy on the weekend.

North Bay Fire and Emergency Services says Jessie Embrack heard the carbon monoxide alarm going off around 2 am Sunday, woke her husband and children and they got out of the house.

Fire crews registered the gas at 170 ppm (parts per million) upon arrival.

Levels between 150 and 200 ppm can cause disorientation, unconsciousness and even death.

“Still very overwhelmed, but happy that we’re raising awareness to make sure everybody checks their batteries or has CO detectors as well,” Embrack says.

She says they’re critically important.

“Just make sure that you have them because it saved our lives,” she adds.  “If the battery is low and you say you’ll replace it the next time you go out, just make sure you replace it right away because it’s something that can be forgotten.  I also want to thank the fire department, they were very, very efficient and kept us calm.”

North Bay Fire and Emergency Services also reminds homeowners that it is the law to have working carbon monoxide detectors outside all sleeping areas if there’s a fuel burning appliance in the home, or an attached garage.

They say the Embrack family had four carbon monoxide alarms (one on every level) for the earliest warning possible.

A cracked heat exchanger in the furnace was the cause in this case.

Filed under: North Bay Fire and Emergency Services