Carbon Monoxide

Two adults and a child were taken to Meritus Medical Center after a carbon monoxide leak was discovered Tuesday afternoon in a three-story house at 804 Washington Ave., according to a Hagerstown Fire Department spokesman. There was nothing to indicate that the people had any life-threatening injuries, Hagerstown Fire Marshal Doug DeHaven said Tuesday evening. The carbon monoxide leak was due to a malfunction on a natural gas water heater, said Hagerstown Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Cleck.

Three people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning Monday night at Chambersburg Hospital, according to Chambersburg Emergency Services Chief William FitzGerald. Crews responded to 321 Philadelphia Ave. for a furnace malfunction and evaluated nine people, FitzGerald said. Some of the residents reported episodes of dizziness, and one might have passed out for a period of time, FitzGerald said. Children were among the residents of the three-unit apartment building, he said. “That was the first time (for the season)

By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer Marilyn Rudolph did not realize that a silent killer had invaded her Halfway home on Sunday night until an alarm sounded. She ignored the carbon monoxide detector's alarm three times. But when it went off again, she, her husband and 16-year-old son left the 17630 Meadowood Drive house and called the fire department. Halfway Volunteer Assistant Fire Chief Doug DeHaven said firefighters found dangerously high levels of poisonous carbon monoxide gas throughout the house when they arrived at about 10 p.m. The levels were especially high in the second-floor bedrooms.

Seven exposed to carbon monoxide By KIMBERLY YAKOWSKI / Staff Writer Seven people living in a Hagerstown duplex were hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after being exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide, according to Hagerstown Fire Department. Battalion Chief Ron Horn said the fire department received a call from Lori McClanahan, who lives at 43 Elizabeth St. with her four-year-old daughter, complaining that her carbon monoxide detector had activated. Horn said McClanahan told him she had turned on her gas furnace three days ago and had felt sick ever since.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Two men were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning Friday afternoon in a Waynesboro house, according to a press release from Franklin County Coroner Jeffrey R. Conner. Stewart A. Dewease Jr., 49, and Keith Rohrer, 22, were found by a relative of Dewease's at 614 Park St. in Waynesboro, Conner said. The carbon monoxide poisoning was caused by a car left running in the garage, Conner said. Stewart was found on the first floor, and Rohrer was found in the basement, Conner said.

bonnieb@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Carbon monoxide poisoning is the leading cause of injury and death by poisoning worldwide, with about 40,000 people treated in the United States annually, according to the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Web site. Medical personnel are concerned about the injuries and deaths that occur each year during what emergency room physicians call "CO season," a time when faulty furnaces and other mechanical mishaps lead to a spike in cases of carbon monoxide (CO)

CHAMBERSBURG, PA. - Five people were flown to three hospitals Thursday afternoon after apparently being overcome by carbon monoxide caused by a blocked chimney in their Chambersburg home. "A friend stopped in there to see them and found them," Acting Emergency Services Chief William Dubbs said. "They're probably fortunate to be alive. " The call came in at 1:52 p.m., and fire and ambulance personnel found one person downstairs and the other four on the second floor of the duplex at 120 S. Second St. Dubbs said the other side of the duplex was vacant.

charlestown@herald-mail.com SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, W.Va. - Firefighters were called to Jefferson High School Monday afternoon to deal with carbon monoxide in the building, officials said. At about 4:15 p.m., people were starting to cough at the school along Flowing Springs Road, Principal Susan Wall said. Officials detected a small amount of carbon monoxide in the building, Wall said. Firefighters determined the carbon monoxide was coming from a heating unit on the roof of the school, said Ed Smith, chief of the Independent Fire Co. Carbon monoxide was being blown into a classroom after a heating coil in the unit shorted, Smith said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Four emergency personnel were among six people treated Wednesday night for carbon monoxide poisoning at a home on South Second Street, according to Emergency Services Chief Allen Baldwin. The carbon monoxide was traced to a backed up flue pipe from a gas heater, officials said. Two firefighters, an emergency medical technician and a paramedic were treated and released from Chambersburg Hospital at about 2 a.m., Baldwin said Thursday. The owner of the home, Mary E. Hull, and a visitor were taken to the hospital and the visitor was later flown to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. Hull, of 136 S. Second St., was admitted for a day's observation, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com Pennsylvania State Police say an Antrim Township teenager found dead in a car at a truck stop Sunday died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Aaron C. Christman, 17, of 8586 Talhelm Road, was found at about 4:30 p.m. in a vehicle at the Travel Centers of America at 10835 John Wayne Drive, according to police. Franklin County Coroner Jeffrey R. Conner said Christman's body was found by employees of the truck stop. Conner ruled the death was accidental and said no autopsy would be performed.

Three people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning Monday night at Chambersburg Hospital, according to Chambersburg Emergency Services Chief William FitzGerald. Crews responded to 321 Philadelphia Ave. for a furnace malfunction and evaluated nine people, FitzGerald said. Some of the residents reported episodes of dizziness, and one might have passed out for a period of time, FitzGerald said. Children were among the residents of the three-unit apartment building, he said. “That was the first time (for the season)

Two adults and a child were taken to Meritus Medical Center after a carbon monoxide leak was discovered Tuesday afternoon in a three-story house at 804 Washington Ave., according to a Hagerstown Fire Department spokesman. There was nothing to indicate that the people had any life-threatening injuries, Hagerstown Fire Marshal Doug DeHaven said Tuesday evening. The carbon monoxide leak was due to a malfunction on a natural gas water heater, said Hagerstown Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Cleck.

The Chambersburg Borough Council announced Monday it has received a federal grant for what the borough manager describes as “one of the most important programs developed by the Chambersburg Fire Department.” Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr., D-Pa., and U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., assisted the borough in obtaining $65,430 from a Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, Fire Prevention and Life Safety Education grant. It will be used to continue the installation of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, as well as to train citizens in fire prevention.

After the significant storms last weekend, many areas of the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and surrounding areas have been left without electricity. Citizens Fire Co. of Charles Town is reminding residents to follow these simple precautions while operating generators:  Generators should be used in well-ventilated locations outside away from all doors, windows and vent openings. Never use a generator in an attached garage, even with the door open. When plugging in appliances, make sure they are plugged directly into the generator or a heavy-duty outdoor-rated extension cord.

Except for a flat tire, it had been an uneventful trip last July - a drive from Florida to New York to visit relatives. But everything changed when Larry Schrefler's companion began complaining of dizziness. Traveling along Interstate 81 near Hagerstown, her symptoms worsened and the 82-year-old driver decided to pull their recreational vehicle off the highway. As he did so, his friend lost consciousness. Schrefler immediately called 911 and waited for an ambulance that took the couple to Meritus Medical Center.

You can't see or smell carbon monoxide, but at high levels it can kill a person in minutes. Carbon monoxide (CO) is the most common cause of poisoning death in the United States, often caused by fuel burning appliances that are not functioning properly.   Approximately 500 deaths and 15,000 visits to the emergency room occur annually due to unintentional CO poisoning. Adults aged 65 and older are especially vulnerable to unintentional CO poisoning because of their high frequency of pre-existing medical conditions.

Man taken to hospital after motorcycle accident HANCOCK - A man was taken to Meritus Medical Center on Sunday afternoon after the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car in front of 260 E. Main St., according to Washington County Emergency Services. The accident was reported at 12:45 p.m. Sunday. U.S. Cellular office closed after fumes cause illness The U.S. Cellular office on Eastern Boulevard North was closed early Sunday afternoon after some people became ill due to fumes, according to Washington County Emergency Services.

EASTERN PANHANDLE, W.Va. -- Deer kill on the first day of West Virginia's two-week gun season for bucks was off to a rousing start in the Eastern Panhandle, with dozens of the animals taken to game-checking stations Monday. When Jean Gilbert was asked how many deer were checked into the Country Roads General Store along W.Va. 51 in Middleway by early afternoon, she responded, "Oh, my goodness. " "I would say at least 25. I had three books going at one time here today," Gilbert said.

HAGERSTOWN - Falling down the steps or slipping in the shower. Withstanding hazardously low indoor temperatures to manage heating bills. Inhaling carbon monoxide or sleeping through a house fire. Preventable accidents and injuries happen to people each day, especially senior citizens. The Hagerstown Fire Department, local Lowe's volunteers and several members of Habitat for Humanity of Washington County's Women Build joined forces Saturday in an attempt to help prevent some.