JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --
Six people were rushed to an area hospital Thursday evening after they were sickened by carbon monoxide authorities say came from a running generator inside their house.
Rescue officials said the incident took place at a house in the 3000 block of Dellwood Avenue in Riverside.
Firefighters said the electricity to the house was turned off and they found a generator running inside a bedroom.
Two adults and four children were being treated at Baptist Hospital for carbon monoxide inhalation. Their names and conditions were not available.
Authorities said they received a call after a man in the house passed out.
Investigators said when they arrived at the home they opened the door and used some sensors and found that the carbon monoxide levels in the home were too high.
Firefighters said they tested the other five people who were in the home and felt they all needed to be treated for carbon monoxide inhalation.
Firefighters said it is extremely dangerous to have a generator running inside a home.
"As soon as we hit the front door, our air monitor alarmed immediately," JFRD Lt. Mike Perry said. "So as soon as we hit that door, we knew they were in a bad environment and needed to be removed from that structure."
The names of the people hospitalized were not immediately released, and it was not clear whether the six were a family.
All six people hospitalized Thursday night were being treated in a hyperbaric chamber.
Firefighters said that generators should never be operated indoors and if the people had stayed in the house much longer, they might not have survived.
"Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, silent killer," Perry said. "You have no idea you're breathing it in, and it's going to change the oxygen levels inside your body, and eventually it's almost like put you to sleep but instead it's going to actually kill you."
