The father of a six-person household said that while using a portable BBQ to heat their home, his kid became carbon monoxide poisoned and began vomiting when he woke up.
The Merrylands granny apartment in Sydney’s west received a call from paramedics early on Tuesday morning after an adult reported having a headache.
When they arrived, they found two children and four adults, including two old people, who had been using a charcoal fire to try to warm the house.
Najem Nawaseri said he found his 13-year-old son Raeed violently unwell before urgently calling triple-0 for assistance.
‘When I woke up I was very dizzy and then I understood (what was going on), then I saw my young son vomiting and then I called triple-0,’ Mr Nawaseri told the Telegraph.
Due to a language barrier, emergency personnel found it difficult to speak with the family, but multiple relatives sent ambulance staff a picture of the BBQ to help them identify it as a possible headache cause.
They had set the charcoal fire to heat the house, and when they dozed off, the granny flat was filled with toxic gases.
Raeed claimed he awakened feeling really well but didn’t know the burner was the source of the gases.
‘I didn’t realise it was this,’ the youngster said as he pointed to the outdoor heater. ‘It had no smell, it was just on but I was feeling very dizzy.’
His father said it was a response to rising gas prices in Australia.
‘(It’s) very expensive, the gas and everything,’ Najem said.
‘A lot of people’s heaters do not work and they don’t have enough money to pay.’
After inhaling the gas overnight, all six have been transported to Westmead Hospital in stable condition to be closely watched. Fire crews have also visited the property to evaluate its security.
Due to the growing costs of energy throughout the winter, there have been several cases when people have sought to utilize cooktops or burners to heat their houses.