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4 months ago
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A mother who was rushed to hospital after her children found her and her husband unconscious from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning remains in an induced coma nine days later.
The couple were discovered unconscious and unresponsive inside the bedroom of their Westminster home in Perth's north by their teenage children on June 25.
At least five ambulances rushed to the home, where the woman in her 40s and the man in his 50s were treated by paramedics, including a critical care team.
Nine days after the incident, the woman is still fighting for life in the intensive care unit at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
Her husband has been discharged from hospital.
It's understood charcoal had been burning in an unvented bedroom where the couple had been sleeping and trying to keep warm in.
It is believed the family had only recently moved into the home.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services acting district officer Luke Miles said the pair were exposed to potential carbon monoxide poisoning 'for a long period of time.'
The married couple were discovered by their teenage children who called triple-000 (pictured emergency services at the scene)
The mother, in her 40s, is still in intensive care but her husband has been discharged from hospital (pictured paramedics at the scene)
'They were using (the charcoal) as a heating source in the bedroom ... where both of the casualties were located,' he told reporters.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) district officer John Manocchio said the couple's children helped save their parents lives due to their quick thinking, reported perth now.
'It’s tragic but a testament to the actions of those children to alert the authorities and ventilate the home,' he said.
'When firefighters arrived with detectors they didn’t actually detect any carbon monoxide left in the house because it had been so well vented.'
Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause a range of symptoms including headache, nausea and vomiting, while exposure to very high levels of it can cause loss of consciousness, seizures and death.
The incident is an important reminder this winter for Aussies be aware of carbon monoxide and to only use suitable indoor heaters.
It is believed the couple had been heating charcoal in their unvented bedroom to stay warm. Pictured is the scene
'The important safety message surrounding that is obviously the burning of any material within an enclosed space, (you) must make sure that you have a well-ventilated area,' Mr Miles said.
Recently, there have been other occurrences of people being exposed to carbon monoxide when trying to heat their home with an unsuitable heat source and lack of ventilation.
Four people, including a child, were transported to hospital on June 29 after a family of five used an outdoor barbeque to heat their Wentworthville apartment in western Sydney.
'The firefighters in attendance say the CO [carbon monoxide] levels inside the unit were more than four times the dangerous limit,' Fire and Rescue NSW said in statement.
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital clinical toxicologist Jason Armstrong told 7NEWS carbon monoxide 'slowly builds up in the body' eventually starving a person's cells of oxygen.
Mr Armstrong advised that if a person suspects someone of being exposed to carbon monoxide, they need to drag them outside straight away.
'The priority is to get them to fresh air, get supplemental oxygen and get them to a medical facility as quickly as possible,' he said.
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