OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Two Overland Park fathers are giving thanks after both had brushes with what’s known as ‘the silent killer.” Carbon Monoxide seeped into their homes giving them and their families quite a scare.
Joaquin Rincon and his son were at home on Tuesday night when they suddenly became sick.
“It happened so fast,” Rincon said. “Everything happened like that. I didn’t even notice when I started feeling sick.”
The father and son were watching t-v when the 29-year-old father started feeling dizzy. He says his nine-year-old son Alexander kept vomiting. The frantic father called 911. Firefighters and police arrived and found Rincon and his son were overcome by Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.
“I was kind of scared because I wasn’t feeling good at all,” Rincon said. “I didn’t want to leave my son like this.”
The family was using a generator because their home was temporarily without power. Rincon was using the generator to keep a space heater and appliances on.
A similar situation happened on Monday. Steve Goodwin, his wife and four of their kids were rushed to the hospital after a close call with the ‘silent killer.’ Goodwin had no idea his 20-year-old furnace in his basement leaked Carbon Monoxide until it was too late.
“It was just a matter of time,” Goodwin said. “The household would’ve been dead and it’s scary,” Goodwin said.
The two lucky dads will now invest in CO detectors. Carbon Monoxide poisoning kills roughly 2,100 people every year.
