Two hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning

Thanks to a neighbor, a Pittsfield resident and his sister are alive. He found the elderly brother and sister unconscious in their house on Dalton Avenue. Both were taken to Berkshire Medical Center, but the woman was airlifted to a Connecticut hospital for hyperbaric treatment.

"We ventilated the structure, tried to find a reason for the high levels of carbon monoxide. The Pittsfield police assisted the fire department with that investigation and during the course of the investigation they found what appeared to be a plugged up chimney," said Pittsfield Deputy Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski.

The residents did not have a carbon monoxide detector in the home -- a violation of Massachusetts state law. We talked to the neighbor who found the residents, and he said he attempted to call his neighbors several times and decided to enter when they didn't respond. He said he was shocked to find them in such a severe state.

The deputy fire chief said he doesn't see cases like this one very often.

"On occasion we might have somewhat of an elevated reading, we may shut down the heating device and tell them to contact their service provider. Very rarely do we get one to this extreme where these people were very critical shape when they left the home," said Czerwinski.

Just a few weeks ago four Albany residents were taken to the hospital after a carbon monoxide leak in their home on Elk Street. And in December a Troy couple died from a carbon monoxide in their home. Deputy Chief Czerwinski said having a detector in your home is crucial.

"They do a great deal of good. Like a smoke detector they're there to save your life," he said.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas, so a detector is often the only thing that can detect a leak. And if that alarm goes off, fire officials want you to give them a call immediately.