Two people died from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of an incident Tuesday morning in northeast Calgary.
One, an adult, died at the scene while the other, a youth, died later in hospital.
The Calgary Fire Department says the pair were “found in medical distress” in a garage in the 900 block of Rundlecairn Way N.E.
Public information officer Alex Kwan said CFD “arrived to find (paramedics and police) already on scene and assisted with CPR on two patients in the alley.”
That was around 1:30 a.m.
Security footage of the scene, obtained by CTV News, showed several people gathered in an alleyway behind the garage.
When paramedics arrive, they can be seen scrambling to tend to two people by two vehicles in the alleyway as bystanders hover nearby.
Another video shows police arriving on scene, with one officer overheard saying, “so, the vehicles were running in the garage for a couple of hours.”
The fire department says it called in additional resources, including a hazardous materials crew.
CO levels in the garage were more than 300 parts per million, “which can be fatal with a few hours of exposure.”
Two vehicles were in the garage.
Neither was found running at the time, though Kwan noted one was warm.
“As soon as you start up your vehicle, you should pull it outside and then close that garage door because it can accumulate in those areas very, very quickly,” Kwan said.
“You should never have a running vehicle inside a garage.”
The fire department also noted furnaces and any household appliances that run on fuels like natural gas and propane “can be a source” of CO.
The fire department stressed the importance of working CO alarms.
Police said the deaths are not believed to be criminal in nature, but it’s still not exactly clear what happened.
The medical examiner was called in and is investigating.
