6 adults, 4 children taken to hospital following suspected carbon monoxide exposure in Vanier

Ten people were taken to hospital, one of them in life-threatening condition, following an incident of suspected carbon monoxide exposure Sunday morning in Vanier. (Natalie van Rooy/ CTV News Ottawa)

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

Six adults and four children sustained various levels of poisoning, according to Ottawa 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. Officers on scene suspected that "there may have been some carbon monoxide poisoning involved."

"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 seen them in distress. The friend then called 9-1-1.

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.