Two children aged one and three were rushed to the hospital after they were poisoned by carbon monoxide emitted by an old stove. The incident happened in Lipcani village of Briceni district in the afternoon of October 17. The kids were in the care of their grandmother, who was also hospitalized.
Contacted by IPN, vice director of the Briceni District Hospital Vlad Crudu said the children received medical care and their state of health improved. The grandmother told the doctors that the stove is old and hasn’t been checked for many years. The children felt sick after they stayed in the room heated by the stove.
According to specialists in the prevention of home accidents involving children, most of the cases of carbon monoxide poisoning can be prevented. “Checking the stove before starting to heat the home should be a norm for each family. The existence of a source of oxygen, fresh air, for example an open window, when the stove burns is another mandatory condition. If these two conditions are met, many lives can be saved,” stated Natalia Dinu, the representative of REPEMOL Project. Measures to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning at home can be found here.
Firemen warn the gas installations, heating stoves and electrical appliances should be used in accordance with the security and anti-fire rules. These should be examined before the heating season. The people are also recommended not to overheat the stove, to air the room when a stove or a fireplace is burning and to call the emergency services if they have headaches and dizziness and suspect an emission of carbon monoxide.
More information about how to create a danger-free home and how to protect the child in different situations can be found at www.parinti.md and following the activities carried out as part of the information campaign to prevent accidents involving children within the Regionalization of Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Services in the Republic of Moldova Project (REPEMOL), which is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and is implemented by the Foundation “Center for Health Policies and Services”.
