MARIETTA, Ga. — A family of five, including three young children and a pregnant woman, were poisoned by carbon monoxide at their home in Cobb County Thursday night.
Channel 2's Chris Jose was in Marietta, where the family was rushed to the hospital in serious condition after firefighters rescued them. On Friday, windows in the home on Perche Drive were still wide open.
The family is still recovering in the hospital but everyone is expected to be ok.
Jose talked to Cobb County Fire Deputy Chief Jay Westbrook, who said firefighters found a lit charcoal grill inside a bathroom. Westbrook believes the family used it to heat the home.
"It's just a very unsafe practice," Westbrook said. He said the home had dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, which can cause nausea, headaches, fainting, dizziness, confusion, and, in severe cases, death.
Westbrook said the mother fainted and someone in the home called 911. Westbrook said it's lucky they got to the family on time, since children are more susceptible to carbon monoxide poisoning.
"They can be more vulnerable because of their body size," Westbrook said.
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Jose spoke to concerned neighbors, who said the family just moved in a month ago. Kellie Guske said she saw emergency responders swarm the home. Guske said she was surprised to hear a grill was at fault.
"It’s insane. I don’t know why you would do something like that," Guske said. "Especially with children in the house. That's the No. 1 concern right now. Those children."
Temperatures in metro Atlanta were in the 20s Friday morning. Firefighters said the family's heater was not working.
They said they did not find a carbon monoxide detector inside the home.
Gas and oil-burning furnaces, portable generators, cars and charcoal grills can all produce carbon monoxide. Firefighters say you should never use a generator inside your home.