A man was poisoned with CO (carbon monoxide) on Wednesday evening in his home in Koekelberg, Brussels firefighter spokesman Walter Derieuw said Thursday. He was taken to hospital in serious condition. The cause of the poisoning was a brazier that the man had lit in his living room.
The emergency services received a call, Wednesday evening around 10:45 p.m., for a suffering man, avenue Hoegaarden in Koekelberg. When paramedics entered the victim’s apartment, their CO detector went off immediately. Paramedics notified the fire department, opened the windows and removed the almost unconscious victim. The inhabitant was in serious condition. He was taken to hospital by a team from Smur.
“The cause of the intoxication was clearly the burning brazier in the living room”, said Walter Derieuw. “All the windows were closed, so that the combustion gases had accumulated in the room”. The apartment has central heating, so there was, a priori, no reason to light a fire.
The firefighter spokesperson reminds us of the basic rules to avoid any CO poisoning accident: install compliant heating devices and have them checked regularly, provide good evacuation of combustion gases, provide good ventilation, and do not forget to ventilate the rooms. It is also helpful to be alert to CO alerts from the MRI.
–
