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Oct. 17--Four people were hospitalized on the North Shore Monday after a building housing a Highwood dental office fired-up the furnace for the first time this fall.
People inside the building got sick within minutes.
The first 911 call was for a heart attack, the second for a stroke. When first responders arrived minutes later, they didn't know what they had, until their portable CO detector started blaring as they walked in the door. That's when two firefighters noticed they were already feeling light-headed. They reached for their air packs and got everybody out.
Highwood Fire Chief Dave Mohry considers it a cautionary tale. "Carbon monoxide detectors -- They're a lifesaver," he said.
Three victims are in stable condition. A fourth, in critical, was rushed to the nearest hyperbaric chamber, where the deadly gas will be forced out of his bloodstream under pressure.
Repairs to the building's furnace were already being made Monday afternoon.
