On Sunday Jan 23, 2005 at approx. 07:10hrs just as the snow began to fall again in Oyster Bay the Oyster Bay Fire Department and Atlantic Steamer Fire Company were alerted for a reported House Fire. Fire Com gave an additional to the first responding chiefs that the caller reports smoke in the basement.
Upon their arrival they were not met with a fire situation however it was a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Emergency. Caused by an Oil Burner puff back. Oyster Bay Fire Department Chiefs DeCarolis and Mantegari III were on-scene along with Engine 558 Ambulance 5526 and Utility Vehicle 5510. Readings were taken in various parts of the house by Memebrs of the Oyster Bay Fire Department in full personal protective gear with Self Contained Breathing Apparatus(S.C.B.A.) in use and found to be positive for CO at a value of 450 Parts Per Million(PPM) Normal readings on a day to day basis are considered to be less than 30PPM. The occupants were quickly escorted from the house and evaluated by Emergency Medical Technicians from the Oyster Bay Fire Department who then transported them to the hospital via 5526 for further evaluation. They were treated and released. All units operated on scene for about an Hour and a half and returned to quarters safely to await the next run.
On a side note the Oyster Bay Fire Department recently recieved formal training in CO Emergencies and Air Monitoring for 2005 from the Nassau County Fire Service Academy. The training and skills that were learned definately paid off during this alarm.
