Actress Anna Faris Thanks Firefighters After Family Nearly Succumbed to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Thanksgiving is a time for loved ones and food, and all the shenanigans, joy and trials that attend such events are experienced by many families every year. Actress Anna Faris’ family is no different.
Starting the day before Thanksgiving, Faris started sharing a play-by-play of her family’s holiday, warning her followers that their family had rented a house so they could all spend time together.
What followed was an all-too-relatable series of posts.
1210 pm. My dad and brother are hard at work. My mom is thrilled. pic.twitter.com/vg1HWuPOVU
— Anna Faris (@AnnaKFaris) November 27, 2019
“1153am,” she posted on Nov. 27. “Hiding in the bathroom for just a minute. Choice between onion chopping, walk with family, or pretending my stomach is upset. My dad also wants to show me videos on YouTube.”
“1113am,” she posted on Thanksgiving day. “Could not find giblets or jiblets and my hand is very cold (but I did santitize). Now in bathroom hiding. Also my family is reading these tweets and I’m getting a touch of grief. Dear family on the day of thanks-I love you all. Just a little more from the upstairs bath.”
There were eight tweets in total that circulated around mundane familial griefs and coping strategies for the general holiday chaos, but then radio silence from a little after 11:00 a.m. on Thursday to 6:00 p.m. Friday.
Most people would be spending that time enjoying the fruits of their labors and stuffing themselves on leftovers, but the family of 13 experienced a terrifying scare.
At some point early on, two people had started feeling sick. They initially wrote it off as altitude sickness, but it quickly became clear that it was more serious when they were taken to the hospital and discovered they’d been poisoned.
No, it wasn’t some jealous family member spiking the wine with a violent concoction — it was carbon monoxide.
Apparently, the rental house in Lake Tahoe had no carbon monoxide detectors, and whether because of the snow blocking vents or some other cause, the levels in the house were shockingly high.
According to what the North Tahoe Fire Department told KOLO-TV the levels in the house — with doors and windows open — were reading at 55 ppm, with some lower areas reaching as high as 426 ppm. The normal and safe reading for carbon monoxide? Just 9 ppm.
It can be difficult to distinguish between carbon monoxide poisoning and other ailments, as many of the symptoms are shared. Some side effects include dizziness, disorientation, difficulty breathing and headaches.
I’m not quite sure how to express gratitude to the north Lake Tahoe fire department- we were saved from carbon monoxide- it’s a stupidly dramatic story but I’m feeling very fortunate pic.twitter.com/zqsW77Tda0
— Anna Faris (@AnnaKFaris) November 30, 2019
“I’m not quite sure how to express gratitude to the north Lake Tahoe fire department — we were saved from carbon monoxide — it’s a stupidly dramatic story but I’m feeling very fortunate,” Faris shared on Twitter.
The fire department also shared her post, adding that this could have easily turned into a very sad story had the family not found out they were being suffocated.
“So #thankful for a happy ending to this #carbonmonoxide #co incident,” North Tahoe Fire tweeted. “Never assume you are safe, check your alarms whenever you #Travel!”
“We are so thankful to report that this holiday disaster was averted,” Mike Schwartz, the fire chief, revealed in an additional statement, according to KOLO-TV. “Situational awareness is so important. Whether you are at home or traveling, it is important ensure that smoke and CO alarms are in working order anywhere you stay. It’s not a bad idea to consider bringing your own alarm when you travel, just to be safe.”
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