4 critical after carbon monoxide poisoning in Roseland

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Four people exposed to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are hospitalized in critical condition after they were found unconscious inside a Far South Side home.

"I just saw them bringing bodies out of the house. Laying them on the ground, one after the other, laying them on the ground," neighbor Claudette Stephen said.

Stephen said the carbon monoxide leak nearly killed her 79-year-old neighbor and three of his relatives.

"It is a wakeup call to a lot of people to know not to use the stove to heat up the house," she said.

Chicago Fire Department paramedics responded to a home in the 300-block of West 107th Street in the city's Roseland neighborhood just before 8 p.m. Wednesday. When crews entered the single-family home, they found four adults passed out on the living room floor.

All four victims were taken in critical condition to Little Company of Mary, Roseland and Metro South hospitals.

Firefighters took carbon monoxide readings and found the home contained 1,000 parts per million, a highly toxic level. They said 20-30 minutes of exposure to carbon monoxide at that level is lethal.

Fire crews said they found all four burners and the oven on with pots of water on the stove.

"The furnace was malfunctioning and they had all burners of the stove on for heat," Battalion Chief Tom Sutkus said. "If you have a problem with the furnace, please get the furnace checked. Get it serviced. Do not use your stove to heat the house. Do not use the burners. Do not use the oven to heat the house."

The home did not have a carbon monoxide detector, which is required by city ordinance, officials said.

Carbon monoxide is known as a silent killer because it is an odorless, colorless gas. Symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure include headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness.