“Every year, carbon monoxide unfortunately causes several victims in the department,” laments the prefect of the North this Sunday after the firefighters intervened several times in recent days for cases of poisoning. A baby died on Saturday.
It’s a chestnut that the media could do without, fatal carbon monoxide poisoning. Yet it returns tirelessly at the same time as the drop in temperatures. The Northern departmental fire and rescue service (Sdis) also regrets “still intervening too much” in such cases. Several accidents in recent days, including a particularly dramatic one on Saturday. In Armentières, near Lille, a couple and their three children were poisoned. A baby could not be saved.
Maintenance, ventilation, prevention
With the cold, “homes use their heating more, a trivial gesture which can turn into a tragedy if the maintenance of the devices has not been carried out,” continues the State representative. And the firefighters remind you of the actions to follow, such as ventilating each room for at least 10 minutes a day or not blocking the vents. Faced with this odorless and invisible gas, Sdis insists on the usefulness of installing carbon monoxide detectors and invites people to contact emergency services immediately “in the event of headaches, dizziness, nausea”.