‘Unimaginable loss’: Man found dead in NE Calgary home with high CO levels

A man was found dead in a northeast Calgary home where high carbon monoxide (CO) levels were detected on Tuesday.

Emergency crews were called to a home on Taradale Drive NE around 12:10 p.m. for reports of an unresponsive person in the basement.

Calgary fire spokesperson Carol Henke says paramedics entered the home first and their CO monitors went off upon entering. EMS backed out of the house and fire crews went in with masks.

Crews found CO levels of 90 ppm when they entered the house, and over 270 ppm in the basement.

A man in his 50s was found unresponsive in the furnace room He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Three other people from the home were taken to hospital in stable condition with elevated levels of CO in their blood.

ATCO was called to the home to turn off the natural gas supply. Fire crews were able to ventilate the home to return CO levels to zero.

Firefighters didn’t see any CO alarms in the home and no alarm was going off when emergency crews arrived, according to the fire department.

“This is an unimaginable loss, and our thoughts are with the family, friends, and neighbours of the deceased during this difficult time,” says CFD spokesperson Carol Henke.

The investigation is ongoing.

Calgary fire responded to several CO calls last week

The Calgary Fire Department (CFD) says crews responded to five CO calls on Thursday, some of which resulted in large evacuations. The following day, crews responded to a CO leak at a seniors home in the city’s southwest.

No deaths were reported in any of the calls last week.

The fire department says they often see more CO calls once furnaces and other gas appliances work harder due to winter weather.

“It’s colourless, it’s odorless, there is no smell,” says Henke. “So you don’t know it’s there unless you have a working carbon monoxide alarm.”

A list of tips to detect and prevent CO poisoning can be found here.