FDNY EMS Members Save a Family of Five from CO Exposure in Queens

They responded to a call for a child having a seizure, but FDNY EMTs Sharon Chase-McLean and Giovanni Caballero ended up saving a family of five from carbon monoxide (CO) exposure in Queens on Feb. 5.

“Everyone is alive because of our members,” said Capt. Ronald Kochie from Div. 4.

A call was received at 11:45 a.m. for a 3-year-old who had collapsed and was having a seizure on 67th Road. As units stepped over the threshold of the single family, they said their CO detectors alerted them of 200 ppm levels - which is dangerously high. As they got further inside the home, their meters read nearly 700 ppm.

They immediately began evacuating the family, including an older couple, their grown daughter and her two young children.

The gentleman had altered mental status due to the CO exposure and was not able to say where he was or who he was after he was evacuated. Capt. Kochie said the man had the highest levels of CO in his system, with a 28 percent saturation in his blood.

The family was transported to Jacobi Hospital’s hyperbaric chambers in stable condition.

“[The members] did an exceptional job and risked their own lives in that atmosphere,” Capt. Kochie said. “They took extra time to make sure everyone got out of the house, called it in and made sure they were sent to the most appropriate hospital. They did an incredible job.”

The Department urges all New Yorkers to make sure they have a CO alarm in their home. Learn more about CO poisoning and how you can protect your home from CO.