Mum thought kids had flu she later realised the FRIDGE killed her son

After their daughter complained of a headache followed by her son vomiting they assumed the family had caught the flu but they were so very wrong…

When Sarah Klebs’ daughter Caroline complained of a headache then later her son, Gavin, started vomiting, she assumed the family had caught the flu, the Alaska Dispatch News reported.

Sadly a day later, after the family was pulled out of their recreational cabin near Big Lake, she realised it wasn’t a virus — it was carbon monoxide poisoning.

“How would you know?” Ms Klebs told the Alaska Dispatch News. “Prior to this, I never would have thought about it.”

The propane-powered appliance at their cabin had started leaking carbon monoxide — an odourless gas — investigators later determined.

Ms Klebs and 8-year-old Caroline recovered, but Gavin did not. The 10-year-old was found in the main area of the home.

The heartbroken couple are speaking out about what happened to warn other families about the hidden danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.

They are encouraging families to install a carbon monoxide detector in their home.

CO is a gas that’s both odorless and colorless. It’s found in combustion (exhaust) fumes produced by:

heaters
fireplaces
car mufflers
space heaters
charcoal grills
car engines
portable generators

Everyone is exposed to small amounts of carbon monoxide throughout the day. However, inhaling too much of it can cause CO poisoning.

Our thoughts are with the family.

Share your comments below.

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19 Comments

- - tessie said
  - 23 Sep 2017
    1:46 pm
I never knew this could happen. My sympathy to the Klebs family on the loss of their son Gavin.

- - mom101628 said
  - 14 Sep 2017
    4:52 pm
Never even thought a fridge was powered this way – what a terrible thing to happen on holiday.

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 08 Sep 2017
    9:49 pm
How horrible! I never would have even thought that could happen!

- - rachel1970 said
  - 07 Sep 2017
    6:26 am
oh how terribly sad, my heart goes out to the family. Who would think that a fridge could leak carbon monoxide??

- - ella12 said
  - 06 Sep 2017
    2:24 pm
Oh dear, so very sad, my thoughts are with the family.

- - rovermum said
  - 06 Sep 2017
    12:07 pm
OMG, this is so sad. I had no idea this could happen. I’ll be looking at getting one of these detectors. My thoughts go out to this family.

- - Ellen said
  - 06 Sep 2017
    7:53 am
How tragic and sad. My thoughts and prayers go out to this heartbroken family.

- - mom64736 said
  - 05 Sep 2017
    9:59 pm
What a weird freaky thing to happen.

- - mom206279 said
  - 05 Sep 2017
    11:15 am
So glad we don’t have gas connected!

- - taynik46 said
  - 05 Sep 2017
    9:21 am
that is so sad for this family. always so many things we need to keep on top of to ensure we and our children are as safe as we can be – one would never think to check the fridge!

- - mom94125 said
  - 04 Sep 2017
    8:52 pm
oh that is so shocking and sad! i had never heard of this happening! my gosh i feel sorry for that poor family! what a tragic thing for them to experience.

- - BellaB said
  - 04 Sep 2017
    6:28 pm
How very sad. We get our heater checked every year and hope that’s enough.

- - mom112217 said
  - 04 Sep 2017
    5:30 pm
Very sad to read,my thoughts and prayers are with the family.

- - Jess said
  - 04 Sep 2017
    3:26 pm
I only have a sense of smell occasionally and even then it is poor. Years ago, my gas stove was leaking and I could have been gassed. Luckily I always keep my home well ventilated, even in winter and at night and I realised something was wrong when my bottle of gas ran out far too soon. People don’t realise various faulty appliances emit carbon monoxide.

- - mom160421 said
  - 04 Sep 2017
    1:36 pm
How devastating for this family. How would anyone know they are being exposed to carbon monoxide?

- - mom90758 said
  - 04 Sep 2017
    12:55 pm
Oh, this is terrible. What a horrendous experience. And poor Gavin. 🙁

- - nealsq said
  - 04 Sep 2017
    12:47 pm
So scary!! For three years we asked our landlord to service our heater and they just wouldn’t do it, if anything had happened there would have been hell to pay

- - shilto02 said
  - 04 Sep 2017
    12:23 pm
How horrifying for this poor family. Carbon monoxide detectors certainly sound like a decent investment as it’s something you would never expect.

- - nadine_hill said
  - 04 Sep 2017
    12:23 pm
Oh my goodness – how heartbreaking and scary – my deepest thoughts and condolences to the family!