10 hospitalized after carbon monoxide poisoning in Ottawa's east end

The Ottawa Police Service says ten people were taken to hospital, with one of them in life-threatening condition, after being exposed to carbon monoxide in the neighbourhood of Vanier on Sunday morning.

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Six adults and four children sustained various levels of poisoning, according to police. They were transported to different hospitals, Ottawa paramedics say.

All four children are in serious, but stable condition. One adult is in life-threatening condition. The other five are in serious, but stable condition.

Ottawa police say they received a call just after 9 a.m. reporting there were people in distress inside a home in the 200 block of Granville Street, north of Montreal Road.

When police arrived at the scene, they found ten people were in distress.

"There was a vehicle running inside the garage and the garage door was closed. Therefore, there wasn't sufficient ventilation for the exhaust coming out of the vehicle," said Insp. Scott Pettis with the Ottawa Police Service.

"It's our understanding that the family that lives at the address is new to Canada. They're not really familiar with the cold. And they did run their vehicle to make it warm for them to travel at some point. Not knowing that they then had to open their garage door to properly ventilate the area."

The patients were discovered by a family friend who had stopped by and saw them in distress. The friend then called 911.

Police say the incident is not being treated as suspicious at this time.

"The gas company is still working, just doing their checks to make sure everything else is okay before we allow the families to return," Pettis said.

"I can say that there is sufficient alert systems inside the house and, so whether or not they were in working order, we're not exactly sure yet."

Ottawa police Insp. Scott Pettis on Dec. 22, 2024. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa)

Area councillor Stephanie Plante says the gas affected all three connected townhomes. She says each family has been evacuated.

"People were not expecting to have this kind of holiday season and my thoughts are with them and their families," Plante said. 

Police are reminding residents to make sure all home fire and carbon monoxide alarms are functioning.

Carbon monoxide, sometimes known as “the silent killer,” is an odourless, colourless gas that can be fatal in high concentrations. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include dizziness, vomiting, headache and eventually loss of consciousness and death.

Nearby residents shocked

Victoria Robinson lives nearby and says she was awoken by screaming and shouting. 

"The whole street was emergency vehicles. Then I saw, right in front of the house, there were two people on the ground receiving chest compressions," Robinson said. 

"It was very upsetting."

Nearby resident Nicholas Laplante said they didn't know the people inside the home well but that they recently moved to the area.

"My neighbor was there, the one beside the unit, helped him out, welcomed him in our house with his dog because it was cold outside," Laplante said.

"It hits hard. It's unfortunate. It's the holidays. We hope that everybody's okay."

A utility worker monitors a gas line on Granville St. after 10 people were hospitalized in a suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa)