The North Vancouver City Fire Department’s chief is asking boaters to install carbon monoxide testers aboard their pleasure crafts after two children were nearly poisoned on Monday evening.
A group of boaters were returning to the Mosquito Creek Marina around 9 p.m. Monday when one of the adults on board found the two children, aged seven and 10, groggy and unresponsive in the boat’s cabin - symptoms consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning.
They called 911 and brought the kids up onto the deck where they regained consciousness.
Police, fire and ambulance crews met them at the dock. The two kids were treated at the scene with oxygen and taken to hospital for observation but they are expected to make a full recovery.
“They were very lucky,” Fire Chief Dan Pistilli said.
Fire crews detected elevated levels of carbon monoxide within the cabin.
“We did do an assessment of the boat and we definitely had a reading that with extended exposure would be concerning,” Pistilli said. “We’re pinpointing it… to an exhaust leak on the boat.”
Carbon monoxide is odourless and tasteless making it impossible detect without proper instruments. It is released anywhere carbon is being burnt, like gas engines. When it enters the blood stream, it interferes with the ability to absorb oxygen causing gradual suffocation.
“You just kind of get dozy and groggy and just sort of pass out,” Pistilli said.
The incident happened to coincide with the start of national Safe Boating Awareness Week.
Pistilli is advising owners of boats with inboard engines to add a carbon monoxide detector to their arsenal of marine safety equipment.
