Family of 5 hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning at SE Portland apartments

By Chandler Watkins

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    PORTLAND Oregon (KPTV) — Five people, including children, were taken to a hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning from a southeast Portland apartment complex on Sunday, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.

At about 2:30 p.m., firefighters responded to the area of Southeast 148th Avenue and Powell for a medical call from apartment complex neighbor Isabela Royer.

Royer says when she opened her door to retrieve a package, her neighbor’s door was open, and she saw the neighbor in his stairway not moving. A generator was nearby.

She checked on him and he said he was OK, but shortly after, he came to her for help. She then discovered his whole family, including children and elderly people, needed medical care.

“I had to pitch the kid up on his side so he wouldn’t asphyxiate because he threw up all over [the] windowsill,” Royer said.

Portland Fire & Rescue said the five people were all conscious and breathing by the time they were taken to the hospital.

Because the apartment building had lost power, crews determined the family had been running a generator indoors and cooking inside the apartment with a propane camp stove.

When a FOX 12 crew arrived at the scene, fire crews were checking the rest of the apartments for carbon monoxide. They said the levels read zero, so firefighters allowed people to return to the building.

The FOX 12 crew was able to tell Royer that authorities had said the family was expected to be OK.

“Oh thank god, oh thank god,” Royer said in response. “There were two kids in that apartment. So I am so grateful they’re OK. Oh my god.”

Royer said it’s all about checking up on your neighbors and looking out for each other, especially with the weather that our area has experienced.

She says they’ve been without power since Saturday and that she’ll be trying to stay warm using blankets.

As she spoke with the FOX 12 crew, another neighbor gave her a blanket to use.

After the incident, the Oregon Poison Center posted a warning on social media about generators or gas cookers:

“If you lost power in this weekend’s #WinterStorm, it is critical that you DO NOT use outdoor cooking appliances indoors. Grills and BBQs produce carbon monoxide which can be deadly when it builds up in an enclosed space.”

And PF&R posted a warning reminding people that carbon monoxide is a “silent, colorless, odorless, tasteless killer.”

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