NORFOLK, Neb. — John and April Laskowski awoke with a start on Christmas Day. An alarm was sounding — their carbon monoxide alarm.
“It took us a moment to realize what it was since it had never gone off before, but we isolated the alarm and read ‘105' on it,” he said.
Not knowing what that number meant, the couple called the Norfolk Fire Department.
Firefighters responded minutes later. Their sensor registered a high carbon monoxide level in the home.
They had some sobering news: A reading of 30 can bring about symptoms, and if the reading reaches 1,100 or 1,200, even one breath can kill instantaneously, firefighters told the Laskowskis.
“Fortunately, despite the 105 reading, we did not experience any physical or mental symptoms,” Laskowski said.
“The night before, we had lit a fire in our wood-burning fireplace and enjoyed its crackle and heat,” Laskowski said. “While we were waiting for the firefighter to arrive, we were trying to figure out how the fireplace could have gotten plugged or otherwise led to this problem.”
As they stood next to an open door, the Laskowskis checked out their furnace exhaust pipe. It was buried under several feet of snow.
A firefighter shoveled the snow away from the exhaust pipe. When he broke through the pocket of gases surrounding the pipe, the carbon monoxide was so intense that it set off the alarm on his sensor despite being outside, Laskowski said.
“We were completely caught off-guard, especially because it seemed that day that the only safe place to be was at home,” he said. “Highways were closed, in-town travel was essentially impossible, so we had been feeling secure, safe and happy to be in our home.”
Within 30 minutes, firefighters gave the “all clear” and instructed the couple to keep windows open until the reading on their monitor approached “0.”
They bought the carbon monoxide detector years ago because someone had mentioned that it was a good idea to have one. They've had it ever since, leaving it plugged in next to their bed.
The next day, the Laskowskis sent e-mails to friends and family with their story. Since then, a number of them have bought carbon monoxide detectors.
“Something as simple as a carbon monoxide detector can save your friends and family from heartache because the unthinkable can happen,” John Laskowski said.
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
