Pet Saves Couple from Reedsburg, WI Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Reedsburg, WI Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

A couple in the Reedsburg, WI carbon monoxide poisoning were alerted to the problem by their family cat, Gracie. She was fussing and begging to enter the bedroom, unusual behavior for the Shanahan’s cat. When the man got up to check on the cat, he saw his wife’s stiff body clutching her chest and a blank stare into space on her face.

The man, Kevin Shanahan, felt sick when he stood up. He decided to help his wife, Annette Shanahan, down the stairs. Something occurred to him that it could be carbon monoxide poisoning. He decided to open a window, but did not go outside.

The man admitted that they were very foggy. It was hard to think in the moment that going outside would be the right decision. But he did manage to call his son, who was not far and made it over to help his parents outside. Emergency personnel arrived within minutes. A Medflight was also called as backup.

Annette vaguely remembers telling the first responders that she couldn’t breathe. Chest pains and fatigue can be caused by carbon monoxide in people with heart conditions. Kevin remembers telling first responders that the cat had saved their lives.

With carbon monoxide, it’s possible that the person or people just decide they aren’t feeling well and go to bed. They might think they have the flu or food poisoning. When they go to bed, they fall asleep, and can die in their peaceful slumber. However, in the Reedsburg, WI carbon monoxide poisoning, one of the family cats, Gracie, had made sure that wouldn’t happen. Her fussing at the door to their bedroom saved the couple’s life that night.

Levels in the Reedsburg, WI Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

The levels of carbon monoxide in the Reedsburg, WI home were about 620 parts per million (ppm) in the second floor. The fire department found 240 ppm on the main floor of the home, and 150 ppm in the basement. As a note, it can be helpful to first responders to have a carbon monoxide detector that gives peak readings, so they know what the levels were at their highest. With levels this high, symptoms could appear within a couple of hours that might include headaches, dizziness, and nausea.

The source of the carbon monoxide was discovered to be a frozen flap to the vent on a hot water heater. In the winter, problems such as this become a very real risk. In some cases, snow or ice might block vents, not allowing carbon monoxide to be exhausted. In addition, it’s helpful as a precaution to get your furnace professionally serviced once a year.

Another precaution to take is installing carbon monoxide alarms. The Shanahans said they had a carbon monoxide alarm, but it was 15 years old and didn’t work. With levels so high, it should have gone off. They bought four new carbon monoxide alarms after the Reedsburg, WI carbon monoxide poisoning. They also purchased a new hot water heater.

One of the themes of these horrendous carbon monoxide stories is the precautions that survivors take after the incident by buying new carbon monoxide alarms. Some even go further and try to raise awareness about keeping working carbon monoxide alarms in residences and businesses.

Finding Gracie

The Shanahan family had three cats. They were concerned that they may have been hurt in the Reedsburg, WI carbon monoxide poisoning. One of the cats was found by the Humane Society pretty easily, approaching the strangers for a scratch behind the ears. The other two cats, including the hero, Gracie, were more skittish and not to be found by the Humane Society. When the Shanahans returned home, they found the male, Emeril, pretty quickly. They were looking for Gracie, hoping for the best, when they saw fur in the basement behind a storage bin. Annette described hoping the cat still be breathing. Fortunately, Gracie was very much alive and ran upstairs, escaping the hold of her worried owner. Carbon monoxide can affect small pets, such as cats, more than adults, because they have smaller bodies and can be more affected. Luckily, everyone in this story survived.