A family of four, including two teenagers, was hospitalised on Saturday night due to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, Brussels firefighters reported on Sunday.
The Brussels Fire Brigade was called to a house on Avenue du Roi Albert in Neder-Over-Heembeek around 21:45 on Saturday. The teenagers living at the house had experienced nausea and vomiting.
Upon arrival, emergency services found that the heating system was broken. The family had used a metal container burning charcoal in the fireplace as a makeshift heater.
"The combustion was incomplete, resulting in CO emissions, worsened by poor ventilation of combustion gases," fire brigade spokesperson Walter Derieuw said. The entire family was taken to the hospital, but their lives are not believed to be in danger.
Several poisonings a week in Brussels
CO is an odourless poisonous gas, produced due to the poor combustion of fuels like gas, coal, petrol, oil or wood. When inhaled, it can cause headaches, nausea, and dizziness, and in severe cases, it can be deadly. Last year, 338 people were victims of CO poisoning in Belgium. For 15 of the victims, the intoxication was fatal.
This marks the third such incident in Brussels this week. Four people were hospitalised following CO poisoning in Saint-Gilles and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean in Brussels in two separate incidents on Sunday last week. Another four people were poisoned by carbon monoxide in a house in Evere on Friday morning.
Derieuw stressed that "using barbecues, braziers or similar items indoors is forbidden", adding that even portable heaters not connected to a chimney should be used sparingly and never in a bedroom. He also emphasised the importance of proper ventilation with a supply of fresh air.
