Uniontown family escapes severe carbon monoxide poisoning and warns others
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
A Uniontown family escaped fatal levels of carbon monoxide in their house in October. Now, they are spreading awareness about the importance of installing carbon monoxide detectors and checking furnaces. From left are Leah Anido, Jeff Pikulsky, Elora Piksulsky, their dog, Schmitzi, and Jamie Pikulsky.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
Uniontown City Fire Deparment Lt. Scott Conn demonstrates a carbon monoxide detector Friday morning at the fire hall.
A Uniontown family that was exposed to severe levels of carbon monoxide in October survived to warn others of the dangers and advocate for awareness.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want that to happen to anyone else,鈥� said Jamie Pikulsky. 鈥淚t was awful.鈥�
Several factors were at play that saved the lives of the family of four on Oct. 17. Pikulsky stayed late at work to help fundraise for a friend with cancer. She arrived home at 2 a.m. Her husband was sleeping on the couch, her 7-year-old daughter, Elora Pikulsky, was sleeping in her parent蘑菇视频 bed, and her older daughter was sleeping in the guest bed instead of her attic bedroom. At about 7 a.m., oldest daughter, Leah Anido, 18, went downstairs to get medication for a headache. At the same time, Jeff Pikulsky was in severe pain and disoriented. He thought he had a bad migraine. Elora Piksuly had a nose bleed and woke her mother. A few minutes later, Leah crashed through her mom蘑菇视频 bedroom door, hit her head on the TV and sat with eyes glazed over, unresponsive.
鈥淚 knew something was very, very wrong,鈥� Jamie said, wiping a tear from her cheek. 鈥淪o I started to jump out of bed, and I started screaming for my husband, and he didn鈥檛 answer me,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow I was like, 鈥楯eff, call 911! Call 911!鈥� And all I heard was, 鈥業 can鈥檛.'鈥�
Jeff had become incapacitated. Jamie called 911.
鈥淢y husband somehow gathered up enough strength to crawl up a flight of stairs on his stomach,鈥� Jamie said. 鈥淗e was yelling, 鈥楪od, please save my kids. God, please don鈥檛 take my kids.鈥� Even though he was already on the floor, he collapsed once he reached my daughter and grabbed her hand.鈥�
Within three minutes, EMS, police and firefighters were streaming into the house. A carbon monoxide meter detected lethal levels in the house, and firefighters screamed for everyone to evacuate.
鈥淭hey told us afterward that if we were in the house a matter of minutes more, we could have all died,鈥� Jeff said.
Because Jamie worked late, she was not exposed as long as her family members, and she was able to call 911. Her younger daughter蘑菇视频 nosebleed 鈥� a common occurrence 鈥� woke her up so that she later heard her older daughter collapse. Leah蘑菇视频 impromptu decision to sleep downstairs saved her life, because the levels of carbon monoxide in the attic were lethal. If she had returned to her room instead of alerting her mom, the family would have died in minutes.
鈥淢y mom would be having to plan four funerals,鈥� Jamie said.
All four of them were taken to the hospital in critical condition and put on oxygen for six or seven hours. They made a full recovery. Jeff and Leah are still being checked periodically, but said they feel fine. The family dog, Schmutzi, a 3-pound min pin chihuahua, was also checked out by a veterinarian and recovered.
The family was unaware that a few weeks earlier, the chimney was damaged. It was the first night they turned the heat on overnight, and a faulty furnace was pumping carbon monoxide through the house. Now, they want everyone to know the importance of installing carbon monoxide detectors and checking furnaces annually.
鈥淚 never, in a million years, thought this would have happened to us,鈥� Jamie said.
Uniontown Fire Department Lt. Scott Conn, a friend of Jamie, commended her for spreading awareness about the importance of carbon monoxide detectors.
鈥淎ll is well that ends well, and thank God,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat蘑菇视频 not the first time that蘑菇视频 happened, either.鈥�
He said the fire department gets about a dozen calls per year for carbon monoxide poisoning. He recommended putting a detector on every floor of the house.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 go overboard with them,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat蘑菇视频 the guardian. That蘑菇视频 what蘑菇视频 watching over you.鈥�
He reminded people to have their furnaces checked, and to never grill or run a vehicle in an enclosed area. Fireplaces should be cleaned regularly, and ventilation should be checked.
If a carbon monoxide detector is going off, 鈥済et out into fresh air and call the fire department,鈥� he said.
Jamie and Elora participated in the Halloween parade, and smoke detectors were handed out for the community. The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce will be giving out free carbon monoxide detectors from its office at 65 West Main Street from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 22.
Several people told Jamie they installed detectors after hearing her story, and many people have supported the family. The parade was a reminder of her caring community, she said.
鈥淚 just really love living in this little town, because we really do come together when bad things happen,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t just makes you realize that even when you go through a really terrible thing, that there are so many people that care about you 鈥� people that don鈥檛 even know you 鈥� when you live in a small town.鈥�