Bournemouth mum urges others to get carbon monoxide alarm after it saved her life
A mum from Bournemouth is encouraging people to fit a carbon monoxide detector after firefighters told her that her's could have saved her life.
Alison Ferhi didn't even realise that she had one until the alarm started sounding and even though she opened her windows, firefighters still found high levels of gas in her flat.
Report by ITV News Meridian's Richard Slee:
Alison had just returned home after dropping her daughter at school when she heard the shrill sound of an alarm.
Realising what it was, Alison opened windows and switched off the boiler.
Alison Ferhi
Carbon Monoxide is a silent killer that claims about fifty lives every year, and the latest test inspection figures show that one in five homes have unsafe gas appliances.
Symptoms of the poisoning are similar to Covid 19, and they can be mistaken for a cold or the flu.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning:
A tension-type headache is the most common symptom of mild carbon monoxide poisoning.
feeling and being sick
tiredness and confusion
stomach pain
The symptoms of exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide can be similar to those of food poisoning and flu, but unlike flu, carbon monoxide poisoning does not cause a high temperature.
Station Manager Karen Jeffries was one of the firefighters who was called out to Alison's flat.
Karen Jeffries, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service:
All of our fire and rescue services have an ongoing campaign to get more carbon monoxide detectors fitted in our homes, but it's important to fit an alarm that complies with regulations, and if it has batteries then check they are working.