Furnace fills home with carbon monoxide

A malfunctioning furnace flooded a Hempstead home with potentially deadly carbon monoxide Tuesday morning, prompting hospital visits for one responding police officer and six residents of the rented home, officials said.

All seven people had been treated and released by 1:30 p.m., a spokeswoman for Nassau University Medical Center said. The officer was back on patrol by noon, Lt. Vincent Montera of the village police department said.

"You do see a little bit more of an increase in these incidents about this time of year when you fire them [furnaces] up for the first time," said First Assistant Chief Scott Clark, of the Hempstead Fire Department, which responded to a call from the house.

He said carbon monoxide alarms worn by firefighters went off as they entered the three-story house on Meade Street near Fulton Avenue shortly before 8 a.m., so they donned breathing apparatus. The alarms are set to go off at 35 parts per million he said, and firefighters measured 350 ppm in the basement and third floor, and 225 to 250 ppm on the first and second floors.

Firefighters turned off the electricity and fuel supply to the furnace and told one of the people who rent the house to have it checked by a technician before turning it back on, Scott said. He said there was no obvious defect with the furnace, but a vent might have been blocked.

Carbon monoxide tips:

• Have your heating unit checked annually by a licensed professional.

• Check chimneys before using the fireplace for the first time. Birds and squirrels can make nests and prevent proper venting.

• Have working carbon monoxide detectors on every floor of the house and in every sleeping area.

• If your carbon monoxide detector goes off, leave the premises and call the fire department. They will tell you whether there was a malfunction or a real problem.

• Don't use portable generators indoors. Don't use ovens for heating and don't try to use a charcoal barbecue on a porch.

Source: Chief John Murray, Rockville Centre Fire Department

-- WILLIAM MURPHY