A family of five living in Western Sydney luckily walked away with their lives after they made the mistake of using an outdoor barbecue to keep warm during the winter chill. Folks, do not try this at home.
Firefighters rushed to the scene of the Wentworthville unit at 4:15am Saturday, and found found three people unconscious in the home. Reports say the family brought a charcoal barbecue from their balcony to the house’s interior, as an alternative to an indoor heater.
As a result of having the charcoal barbecue filling the room with smoke, they began to be engulfed by carbon monoxide fumes, which can be deadly to humans.
Inhaling carbon monoxide fumes stops your body from correctly processing oxygen, which can cause dizziness, nausea, headaches, vision issues, chest pain, and even death. Even worse — carbon monoxide fumes cannot be seen, smelled, or heard.
When firefighters arrived at the Western Sydney unit, the family had reportedly inhaled four times the deadly limit.
Three adults and one child were taken to hospital and treated, and the unit was ventilated by emergency services.
Fortunately, there were no casualties reported and the firefighters returned to the Wentworthville units to provide safety information and advice to neighbours.
Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell made a public warning that people should under no circumstances bring outdoor heaters or barbecues indoors for warmth.
“There’s nowhere for the poisonous fumes to go if they build up indoors. Using charcoal bead cookers, BBQ’s and outdoor heaters inside creates an extreme risk to you and your family,” Fewtrell said.
“We understand that as the weather is particularly cold at the moment, families may be tempted to use alternative heating sources, but these types of items will risk the lives of you and your family rather than making you warm and comfortable in your homes.”
Though it can be freezing inside an Australian home during winter without air-conditioning, there are plenty of alternative and safer ways to stay warm.
- Layer up! Get a scarf and jacket on.
- Blankets, blankets, and more blankets.
- Indoor exercise sessions. After a minute of planking you’ll stop feeling the pain from being cold!
- Watch an episode of Bridgerton Season 3.
- Purchasing appropriate cheap heaters and using them in the correct environment.
- Or check out full list of ways to keep warm in Winter here!
If all that fails, the Victorian Government recently made a new proposal to the minimum heating and cooling standards which will see all rentals fitted with air-conditioners by next year.
So worst comes to worst, move to Melbourne.
[Image: Nine / Getty]
