The Barriere family of five poisoned by carbon monoxide seven days ago is said to be back home and healthy.
The two adults and three children were poisoned in their home and airlifted to a Vancouver hospital in stable condition.
Vancouver Coastal Health spokesperson Carrie Stefanson says the family was put in a hypobaric chamber for treatment.
“I believe they went through three sessions in the chamber, and that usually takes up to two hours at a time. So they successfully went through that and they were released from the hospital the night they came in to Vancouver General,” Stefanson says.
Twenty-three people in B.C. were treated last week for CO poisoning.
Stefanson says that’s “highly unusual,” pointing out VCH usually sees one to three cases per month.
She adds that incidents due tend to increase during winter months, “when people start up their wood stoves and furnaces, that sort of thing.”
“These cases are a reminder that people really need to have carbon monoxide detectors,” Stefanson continues. “If you have just electric heat you’re usually okay, but if you have gas or you’re running a fireplace you should have a carbon monoxide detector on every floor of the home.”