A quick-thinking 9-year-old girl saved parents were overcome by carbon monoxide in their Massachusetts home.
“I heard my dad screaming and saw my mom passed out,” Jayline Barbosa Brandão told WFXT reporter Scott McDonnell. Her father passed out moments later.
Jayline remained calm. She says she then reached for her father’s phone, but found that it was locked. Not missing a beat, Jayline then held up the device to her father’s face to unlock the phone and dialed 911.
Jayline also removed her 7-year-old sister from the home as they waited for the emergency services to arrive.
“She was so smart. If it wasn’t [for] her to call right away, I don’t know what would have happened,” her mother, Marcelina Brandão, told the outlet. The Brandão family had been without power for three days after a powerful nor’easter devastated the region. A generator was set up outside near the back door before bringing it inside of the home.
Brockton Fire Department Chief Brian Nardelli told CNN that they detected carbon monoxide levels at 1,000 parts per million inside the home. Carbon monoxide concentrations above 150 to 220 ppm can lead to “disorientation, unconsciousness, and death.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urges communities to always operate portable generators according to the instructions and run them outside, far away from buildings (at least 20 feet.)
Running a portable generator inside or too close to your home can lead to injury or death from carbon monoxide poisoning.
According to Gov. Charlie Baker, approximately 500,000 homes and businesses lost power at some point.
