The victim was admitted to a regional hospital with a hyperbaric chamber, say the firefighters.
The dispatching of the Picardy Wallonia zone was alerted on Saturday, at 12:45 p.m., that a person was the victim of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in his home on Chemin de Bélicamp in Villers-Notre-Dame, in the entity of Ath.
An ambulance and a command vehicle were dispatched to the scene. A CO measurement carried out in the house revealed a high level of carbon monoxide. A defect in an electric water heater is believed to be the cause of this poisoning.
The victim was taken care of by emergency doctors and transferred to the hospital in Montignies-le-Tilleul, near Charleroi. This establishment is equipped with a hyperbaric chamber for oxygen therapy.
The state of health of the hospitalized person was unknown at this time.
MRI alert this Saturday
The MRI warns of carbon monoxide poisoning this Wednesday. Each year, the silent killer claims more than a thousand victims in Belgium, of which 2 to 3% die.
“Most poisonings occur at home and are caused by a heating or hot water appliance. Individual stoves are more often involved than central heating installations. Poisoning in bathrooms is generally caused by a gas bath heater, ”explains the Royal Belgian Meteorological Institute, which warns this Saturday.
While carbon monoxide accidents occur mainly during the heating season, between October and March, “CO poisoning can however happen in any weather. Ventilation of a room in which a water heater is located is always important. Good ventilation is therefore essential. »
The first signs of CO poisoning are headaches, dizziness and nausea, in children often stomachaches. “Think especially of CO when an illness occurs in a bathroom equipped with a gas water heater or when several people present these symptoms at the same time. Without intervention, these symptoms can progress to loss of consciousness and even death.” still writes the IRM on its site.
So be vigilant.