Overview
- Emergency crews in Schirnding found a 32-year-old unconscious by his fireplace with very high carbon monoxide levels and he has since been discharged from hospital.
- A rapid response was triggered by an employer’s alarm over the man’s absence and an almost simultaneous emergency call the victim placed before losing consciousness.
- Initial police findings point to incorrect operation of the fireplace stove as the likely source of the gas, and officials are urging households to install CO detectors.
- In Selm, firefighters responding to an activated CO alarm discovered a 14-year-old boy dead in an upstairs room, with carbon monoxide suspected and the cause still under investigation.
- Police and reporters emphasize that carbon monoxide is invisible and odorless, arising from incomplete combustion in appliances such as stoves, fireplaces, and gas boilers.