The use of auxiliary heating in recent days has skyrocketed the number of carbon monoxide poisonings and caused two deaths in Quebec.

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“It was an avalanche of carbon monoxide poisoning,” explained Dominique Buteau, chief physician of the hyperbaric medicine service at Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis.

Of the many cases of poison gas poisoning, two people lost their lives, one in Mauricie and the other in the Quebec region.

In the Capitale-Nationale, a dozen calls for cases of carbon monoxide poisoning have been made to the 911 emergency service in the last week. Usually only one or two cases are reported weekly.

Improvised heating

Due to the storm, thousands of Quebecers were without electricity. Some have opted for improvised space heaters to warm up. Several of these means, however, represent major risks, indicated the fire department of the City of Quebec.

"We saw a case where people took charcoal and put it in a metal bowl inside, but it's made to be outside," spokesperson Alexandre Lajoie gave as an example. of the City of Quebec Fire Protection Department.

There are also reports of cases of severe poisoning where the people involved could have lost their lives after placing a BBQ inside their home to warm up.

To Montreal

In Montreal, there is a number of carbon monoxide poisonings comparable to that observed during the 1998 ice storm. 'electricity.

"I was talking today with the people at the Sacré-Coeur hospital in Montreal, which is the other hyperbaric medicine center, and they are going through the same situation," adds doctor Dominique Buteau.

Remember that carbon monoxide is an odorless and non-irritating gas. It is difficult to detect it and the symptoms linked to intoxication can vary from a simple headache to vomiting, including dizziness.

– With QMI Agency