Several inhabitants of the Pays de Savoie were poisoned by carbon monoxide this weekend. The Haute-Savoie firefighters were first alerted on Saturday evening around 7 p.m., after the detection of this odorless, colorless, non-irritating but very dangerous gas in a three-storey building in the town of Epagny Metz-Tessy. In total, 10 people were evacuated and three were transported to Annecy hospital.
Another intoxication, this time in Savoie on Sunday morning. The firefighters intervened in a building on rue du Bon Pasteur around 7:30 a.m. and took care of three inhabitants, two of whom had inhaled carbon monoxide, the release of which seems to have been caused by the malfunction of a gas boiler. They too were taken to hospital.
Headaches and vomiting
Every year in France, 3 to 4,000 people are poisoned by this gas, which is also responsible for around a hundred deaths a year. Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause unconsciousness and even death within minutes. If you have symptoms such as headaches, nausea or extreme fatigue, it is therefore important to act very quickly, open the windows, get out of your house and call the emergency services by dialing 15, 18 or 112 (and 114 for the hearing impaired).
To limit the risks, it is recommended to have your boiler serviced regularly, ventilate your home for at least 10 minutes every day and limit the continuous use of space heaters. There are also carbon monoxide detectors, which are not mandatory as is the case for smoke detectors.
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