Do you know what would happen in your house if there was a carbon monoxide leak?
When both of her parents passed out from carbon monoxide last week, a resourceful 9-year-old girl managed to open her father’s locked phone with his unconscious face and call 911, Boston 25 News reported.
Jayline Barbosa Brandão’s home in Brockton, Mass., has been without power for three days following a powerful nor’easter storm that hit the East Coast ahead of Halloween weekend. To keep their house running, her family was using a generator.
Last Thursday, the 4th grader was in her bed when she heard her father screaming, said CNN.
“I heard my dad screaming and say my mom passed out,” she told reporters.
According to the girl’s mother, they thought the generator was in a safe place and they used it for only short periods of time. Then, she started to feel sick.
“I thought it was just a headache, then 2-3 minutes I didn’t feel anything after that,” said Brandão’s mother, Marcelina Brandão.
Brandão’s father found his wife unconscious and began yelling for his 9-year-old. He was soon overtaken by the odorless gas as well. According to Boston 25 News, carbon monoxide inside the home was measured at over 1000 parts per million, a potentially fatal amount.
Though his daughter managed to stay calm and find his iPhone, it was locked. So, she used his face to unlock it. She also took her 7-year-old sister out of the house to find help from a neighbor. Eventually, five people from the house were taken to the hospital for treatment, including Brandão’s grandmother.
“I wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t in the house,” said the girl’s mother.
Brockton Fire Department Chief Brian Nardelli said the incident was one of around 20 carbon monoxide cases reported in the aftermath of the storm.
The National Weather Service recommends keeping generators at least 20 feet away from homes.
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