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Feb 20, 2007 11:05 pm US/Eastern
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One Dead After Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
by Don Cannon
PENN HILLS (KDKA) ―
A man is dead and his mother is in the hospital after a suspected case of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Police in Penn Hills say the family was using a gas stove for heat.
While sleeping, 23 year old James Christian died.
The family says they called their landlord about the broken furnace and the landlord said he was on the way to fix it.
There were no carbon monoxide detectors in the home.
Unfortunately, using the oven or stove for heat is not unheard of.
New furnaces are about 92 percent efficient.
That means only 8 percent of the heat is lost through venting the carbon monoxide.
Most furnaces in many older homes in the Pittsburgh area are not that efficient.
"Any furnace 20 or more years old is actually only 50 percent efficient," said HVAC Engineer Bob Csaszar.
In some cases those furnaces are not only dangerous.
They can vent carbon monoxide into the basement often with deadly consequences.
But the danger of carbon monoxide is not just in your furnace or hot water heater, it can be as close at your kitchen stove.
The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are subtle and insidious.
They should not be ignored.
"If anybody feels, tired, nauseated in any way, shape or form, I suggest you pick up the phone and get your local fire department our there," said Csaszar.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)