The fire brigade has been able to set the clock by this for years: when the weather changes and the mercury drops, the thermostat goes up again – just like the number of reports of carbon monoxide poisoning. Every year it leads to hundreds of injuries and about ten deaths. Fortunately, Amsterdammer Jorian van Schagen can tell the story. “If that friend of mine hadn’t called the fire brigade, I wouldn’t be there anymore.”
“You are stressed and are given breathing exercises.” Jorian van Schagen was surprised when his GP diagnosed him as ‘overworked’ in the winter of 2019. Sure: as a political advisor to the deputy mayor, he works hard hours at the Stopera. But overworked?!
“I had been having vague complaints for months: a headache and I was paralyzed.” Van Schagen first thinks it is flu, but after a few weeks he goes to the doctor. “But when spring came, it bothered me less.” Although the complaints return at one very specific time: when he got out of the shower.
Incomplete combustion
Richard van den Bosch, risk management advisor at the fire brigade, recognizes Van Schagen’s story from other cases that he and his colleagues encounter. “Carbon monoxide is released during incomplete combustion,” he explains. “This can be caused by a combustion boiler, such as a geyser or a central heating boiler. But it can also be caused by a pellet stove or a fireplace.”
Due to a crack in a pipe or poor ventilation, excessive amounts of carbon monoxide can remain in the house. “When you inhale, you no longer get oxygen into your lungs, which gradually makes you dizzy and sick.”
Dozens of victims
Because this is a gradual process, most victims do not notice much. But the consequences are great. The Dutch Safety Board estimates that approximately ten Dutch people die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning and that another two hundred people end up in hospital.
It would have been very close to Van Schagen also succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning when he turned on the heating on a cold day. “I had a pounding headache, so I thought I should do those breathing exercises.” He texts a comrade that he will be a little late for their appointment. “I then kept texting, but if you read that back, that’s it jibberish.” Although his buddy cannot make sense of the messages, he does realize that something is wrong. “I then sent my address to him – which must have been very strange, because he knew where I lived.”
Saved by the fire brigade
Not much later his friend is at the door, but Van Schagen has already sunk deeply. Ultimately, the fire brigade has to be involved to save him. As soon as they have kicked in the door, the carbon monoxide detectors – part of the standard equipment of firefighters – provide immediate clarity.
Van Schagen can call himself lucky: he got through the eye of the needle. “It sounds crazy, but at first I was relieved that it was because of that,” says Van Schagen. “So that I was not on the edge of a burnout.” But he stops laughing when he is told in the hospital how lucky he was. “If that friend of mine hadn’t called the fire brigade, I wouldn’t be there anymore.”
Van Schagen has now moved. “During the renovation, I fitted many windows with ventilation grilles. And I also installed two CO detectors.” Anything to make sure this never happens to him again.
2024-01-08 06:05:21
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