A grant from Michigan Gas Utilities will enable South Haven Area Emergency Services to protect its first responders from carbon monoxide when they’re out on calls.
SHAES Director Brandon Hinz tells us the $2,000 grant through the company’s Rewarding Responders Grant Program will pay for eight small carbon monoxide detectors that attach to the response bags carried by paramedics.
“We respond to quite a few carbon monoxide alarm activations on an annual basis,” Hinz said. “Some of them are legit activations. So we push pretty hard for folks to have carbon monoxide detectors in their homes.”
Hinz says there was an incident some years back when SHAES personnel were overcome by carbon monoxide during an EMS call.
“A responder that did arrive on scene down the self-contained breathing apparatus pulled our responders out and attempted to resuscitate the victim that we were initially dispatched for. So it has happened in the past. Hopefully, knock on wood, it wouldn’t happen again.”
These little detectors should help with that. Michigan Gas says it’s honored to provide support to public safety agencies.
Hinz says SHEAS will help residents get and install CO and smoke detectors. Anyone interested should just give them a call.
