A Story That Could Save Your Life

Samantha's sister with a photo of a carbon monoxide detector.
Samantha’s sister with a photo of a carbon monoxide detector.

During yesterday’s Senior School assembly, Samantha, Gr. 11, shared a very scary, but important story:

A couple of weeks before the winter break there was a carbon monoxide leak in my family’s home from a crack in our boiler. We went to bed that night, having no idea about the leak as carbon monoxide is colourless and odorless. In large quantities it can be very deadly.

In the middle of the night, my sister woke up because she wasn’t feeling well. She got up to tell our parents, and fainted. The sound woke up my mom. My mom’s adrenaline kicked in. She yelled at the rest of us to get out of bed and called 911. The next thing I remember is being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance alongside my unconscious brother. We were administered oxygen and put in a hyperbaric chamber for several hours while at the hospital.

My family was very lucky. If we had been exposed to the carbon monoxide for 20 more minutes, I might not be here to tell you this story. The only way to detect this toxic gas is with a carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide detectors are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased at any hardware store. I urge all of you to go home and make sure you have at least one detector on each level of your home.

It could save your life.

Samantha, Gr. 11

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