A family of new arrivals poisoned by carbon monoxide

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) indicates that human error is the cause of the accident that occurred Sunday morning which left ten people injured in the Vanier district of Ottawa.

According to the sergeant SPO, Scott Pettisthe family affected by carbon monoxide poisoning is made up of newcomers to Canada, unaccustomed to the extreme cold. However, the police do not yet know the links between all the members of this family.

The family who lives at this address is new to Canada. She's not very familiar with the coldhe explains.

They left the vehicle running to warm it up, not knowing that they had to open their garage door to ventilate it properly.

According to the SPOit would be an accident, although an investigation is underway.

A person without vital signs

Ten people – four children and six adults – were transported to hospital in a serious condition, according to the Ottawa Paramedic Service.

One man had no vital signs when paramedics arrived shortly after 9 a.m.

Neighbors in shock

This accident generated shock waves in the neighborhood. Nicholas Laflamme, a neighbor, witnessed the arrival of first aid.

I quickly went outside and saw several ambulances, fire trucks, police officers, then several people with ventilation masks. So I immediately thought it was carbon monoxide. There was also a person who was lying on the ground doing [réanimation cardiorespiratoire]he says.

It's something you can't see or feel, so it's invisible and it can kill a person. It's really dangerous.

Stéphanie Plante, municipal councilor for the Rideau-Vanier district, went there to offer support to the family.

It's super tragic, it's just before the holiday season tooshe reacted. If anyone needs a hotel, a Christmas present, they can contact my office.

The importance of the carbon monoxide detector

Guillaume Lacombe, emergency physician and toxicologist at the Lanaudière Regional Hospital Center, believes that it is not unusual to see this type of incident occur, especially during colder temperatures.

Unfortunately, carbon monoxide poisoning is something we often see in winter.

Whether it's when people have power outages, they run from generators, sometimes in places that are poorly ventilated, or quite simply, a vehicle that is open, that is left on in a closed area. Unfortunately, this is something we see every year.

He recalls that the installation of carbon monoxide detectors is essential to avoid such incidents.

The incident has also rekindled concerns among residents of the neighborhood, where there are many new constructions, according to neighbors.

Resident Justin Sacho calls for more inspections of carbon monoxide detectors.

It's really disturbing to hear that. It's a new house, so maybe we need to do an inspection? he asks himself.

With information from Antoine Fontaine