Family has close call with carbon monoxide

A local family may not return home after surviving a close call with carbon monoxide.

Area hospitals treated two adults, two teens and two toddlers suffering from flulike symptoms and disorientation from the potentially deadly gas coming from inside a half-duplex at 1110 20th Ave.

Altoona Regional Health System treated Brittany Quarry, 18, Justin LaPenna, 21, the couple’s 3-year-old daughter Daysha and 2-year-old son X’Zavier and David LaPenna, 15, this weekend after blood tests revealed they were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. X’Zavier tested low enough that he was not admitted.

Desire Day-Peoples, 15, was treated at Nason Hospital, Justin LaPenna said. The family is staying with relatives and plans to move from the duplex they have lived in for about five months.

Justin LaPenna said that when he and Quarry returned to the home after the hospital, they still felt uneasy.

‘‘I’m glad I’m alive,’’ Quarry said. ‘‘I was really upset because of my kids. I’m just glad everybody’s safe.’’

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 200 people in the United States die from carbon monoxide produced by fuel-burning appliances annually.

Firefighters detected a level of 500 parts per million of carbon monoxide in the home, according to an Altoona Fire Department report.

The Environmental Protection Agency says levels should not rise above 9 parts per million, said Randy Santone, assistant fire chief.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says workers cannot be exposed to more than 35 parts per million in a 40-hour work week, he said.

Linda Walter, Altoona Housing Authority’s Section 8 housing coordinator, said the flue was backed up inside the home. She said the housing inspector does not check for carbon monoxide specifically, but furnaces and smoke detectors are inspected. The smoke detectors had been going off, LaPenna said.

The authority’s Executive Director Cheryl Johns was unavailable for comment and Greg Leach, housing inspector, did not immediately return a phone call.

Severe headaches, dizziness, mental confusion, nausea and fainting can occur at moderate levels of exposure to the odorless, tasteless and colorless gas, according to the EPA’s Web site. Death can occur if the levels persist for an extended period of time and low levels can cause shortness of breath, mild nausea and mild headaches and may have long-term effects on one’s health.

Santone said doctors treat people suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning in a hyperbaric chamber, which forces the carbon monoxide out of the body and the oxygen in.

Carbon monoxide detectors are available at retail and hardware stores for as little as $20, he said.

According to an OSHA fact sheet, if someone shows symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, move the person to an open area with fresh air and call 911.

Santone said to have furnaces, hot water heaters and gas stoves serviced regularly.

Mirror Staff Writer Amanda Clegg is at 949-7030.