Fire officials are warning people about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. It comes after near-disaster on Thanksgiving Day, when Anna Faris and 12 of her family members had to evacuate their vacation rental. Everyone survived the incident.
"I think there's a series of events here that unfolded that made this a fortunate near-miss," Chief Michael Schwartz, North Tahoe Fire Protection District said. "Otherwise I think we would be talking about a Thanksgiving Day tragedy."
Two people left their Thanksgiving dinner and went to the hospital after feeling ill. Hospital staff discovered that the patients had carbon monoxide poisoning. Several agencies and six ambulances immediately responded to the home a little before 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
"They were able to treat the majority of them on-scene," Schwartz said. "So they were there quite awhile, treating them to get their oxygen levels and everything normalized."
Ambulances transported two additional patients to Renown Regional Medical Center.
Faris is known for her role on the CBS sitcom "Moms" and the "Scary Movie" series. In a tweet, she thanked the first responders.
"I'm not quite sure how to express gratitude to the north Lake Tahoe Fire Department- we were saved from carbon monoxide- it's a stupidly dramatic story but I'm felling very fortunate," Faris tweeted.
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 Twitter: Anna Faris
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Caution tape stretched across the front door of the home, which was open for ventilation as late as Tuesday. The maximum recommended indoor CO level is nine parts per million. Upon arrival, the home was reading 55 PPM. Schwartz says that is enough to kill someone within a few hours. Downstairs, readings were much higher.
"Down in the lower areas of the house, it was 426," Schwartz said. "That's a very, very high level of carbon monoxide.">
Schwartz says that kind of levels could kill someone within minutes.
He says carbon monoxide poisoning is a big concern in Lake Tahoe. Snow can pile up and block vents, trapping the CO inside the house. He says about one person dies from the gas every year around the north shore. It is known as the silent killer.
"This is something that we're really aware of and this is not the first CO poisoning that we've had, obviously, and we've had fatalities in this area," Schwartz said. "It's odorless, it's clear, and most people are not acute enough to pick up the symptoms."
Symptoms may appear to be altitude sickness, including dizziness, light-headedness, and headaches.Â
"The later signs of red skin is not really seen until people are about to the point where they're not going to survive," Schwartz said.
An ordinance will take effect in Placer County, in January. It will require inspections of vacation home rentals. California law already requires the homes to have smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers.Â
Dana Lipsky is a rental specialist with Hauserman Rental Group in Tahoe City. Her agency does not manage the one involving Faris but she is shocked to hear about the ordeal.
"Safety is our utmost priority and we were really surprised to hear someone is renting a house without their proper safety protocols," Lipsky said.
She says her agency has 120 short-term rental units and all of them follow the required safety guidelines. She says the maintenance staff also does routine safety inspections.
"The maintenance team is always on top of that and regardless of whether or not we think it needs it, every six months, these batteries get changed," Lipsky said.
Some carbon monoxide detectors can plug into electrical outlets, but have back-up batteries in case the power goes out. Lipsky says her units have the devices on each floor. Schwartz says everyone should buy CO detectors. He takes it one step further. His crews carry air monitors in their paramedic bags, and he takes a CO detector with him when he goes on vacation.
"Don't just buy the cheapest one you can buy," Schwartz said. "This is your life. Buy the one that is a name brand that you are able to trust."
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