Las Vegas Fire Rescues Four From Carbon Monoxide Filled House

A family of four are lucky to be alive after Las Vegas Fire & Rescue found them overcome by carbon monoxide fumes. All were semi-conscious when firefighters found them just around 2:15 a.m. after getting a call that someone was sick inside a home.

It happened at a house near Vegas Drive and Decatur Boulevard.

There was one person in the living room and three others in bedrooms. All were given oxygen and taken to the hospital.

Firefighters used air monitoring equipment, which indicated a level of carbon monoxide considered life threatening.

The family told firefighters that they had used a charcoal grill inside the living room to make dinner around 7 p.m.. As the night progressed, all started feeling sick with severe headaches.

The fire department says that cooking in the living room is not unusual in Vegas where people from many different cultures live.

"Many cultures in other parts of the world cook in the living room, a place where the family gathers," the department said in a statement. "With the highly diverse population here in Las Vegas, many people cook the way they are accustomed to.

"Because the homes are so extremely well insulated due to the summer heat in Las Vegas, houses here do not “breath” or have a circulation of air as what is typical in many other parts of the world. "

While that's true, fire officials say that cooking indoors with a grill made for outside is a deadly idea.

"Cooking indoors with outside cooking devices is a deadly combination," they said. "Not only is it an extreme fire hazard, it also produces a deadly gas.

"Outside cooking devices should NEVER be used inside a home."

Photo courtesy Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.