Carbon monoxide poisoning sickens Titusville family

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Titusville family is recovering in the hospital after they were exposed to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, Titusville firefighters said.

Firefighters were called to a home on Gail Avenue just before 8 a.m. Tuesday and found the family of eight outside, investigators said.

The six adults and two children complained of headaches, nausea and vomiting, firefighters said. They told investigators that they had a running generator in their garage with the doors closed and fell asleep.

“It was a miracle that they were able to wake up this morning and come out,” said Jason Lengefeld with the Titusville Fire Department.

The family was put on oxygen and taken to a nearby hospital. Their conditions are not known at this time.

The house was also ventilated.

“It’s like a car running in your garage all night long,” Langenfeld said when discussing the dangerous of having a running generator in a home.

Investigators said generators should be left outside, locked up to a vehicle or secured elsewhere if people are worried about the generators being stolen.

Hurricane Irma knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Central Floridians. Power companies are working to restore power, but it could be weeks before everyone is 100 percent, officials said.

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Cox Media Group