Breath of Fresh Air

By: Alana Adams
By: Alana Adams

Carbon monoxide seeped through a Panama City house at 902 Jeremy Lane in Forest Park for almost six hours Wednesday night, slowly poisoning the family of five inside. Around 3 a.m. Amanda Ruddick woke up and immediately knew something was wrong.

"I remember waking up and feeling very sick and disoriented, so I got up to see what was going on and I thought it was just me, but I knew it was something serious."

The night before Amanda's husband, James, had been running fluid through their van's engine and forgot to turn off the car before the family went to bed. Amanda wants others to learn from a mistake anyone can make.

"You can think you don't have gas appliances, or whatever, and you wouldn't have a need for a carbon monoxide detector, but we found out last night that you do need one."

Amanda Stiffler with the Panama City Fire Department says they respond to several carbon monoxide poisonings each year. She also says it could be easily prevented with detectors.

"Carbon monoxide detects incomplete burning, basically what it does and carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless, you're not going to see it or smell it. Basically, it's just going to affect you by making you ill."

It's best to never run any engine in the house or garage, including generators. Amanda Ruddick says you can't always prevent accidents, but you can be better prepared.

"Your child can turn your vehicle on, you could walk off, as we did on an accident, and if the garage is down, it can come right into your home."

The best place to install a carbon monoxide detector is above the bed, a lesson the Ruddick family will forever remember.

Amanda, her husband James and the three young children were all taken to a local hospital where they were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and later released. Extended Web Coverage

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Tips











Source: (United States Environmental Protection Agency).

Copyright © 2002-2015 - Designed by Gray Digital Media - Powered by Clickability 1006211 -
Gray Television, Inc.