Three young children, their mother and another man were hospitalized after a carbon monoxide incident at a Brooklyn home on Tuesday, officials said.
The FDNY was called to the home on Nichols Avenue in Cypress Hills just before 2 p.m., according to fire officials, and found high levels of carbon monoxide present.
Multiple people were hurt by the fumes, including three children who were rushed to Jamaica Hospital in serious condition. Two adults — one of whom was the children's mother — were also hurt, showing minor symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. All five were first treated at Jamaica Hospital, but were later transferred to different hospitals in the evening.
The children's father, Angel Pichardo, wasn't sure if his family would survive after he received a frantic call from his wife.
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"When he came to the house, everyone was in a bad situation," Pichardo said through a friend who translated for him. The kids' eyes were closed and they couldn't breathe, especially the oldest, a 3-year-old, who wasn't responding, Pichardo said.
The other two children for Pichardo and his wife are 2 years old and just 2 months old, respectively.
A fire official said that there was a defective furnace at the building, which may have been the cause of the incident. The utilities companies were at the home looking into the matter.
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The man who was taken to the hospital with the family is the building landlord, Pichardo said, who was fixing the boiler at the time.
"I've been living here for five years, and he's always fixing the boiler, so he knows how to fix it. I don't know what happened this time," said Pichardo's friend.
The only complaint on the Department of Building's website for the address is from Tuesday, stemming from an FDNY inspection for an illegal conversion or occupancy in the basement.
DOB inspectors were later at the scene. An investigation is ongoing.
