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Reasons to hate having neighbors

My sister gets up this morning and randomly glances at her carbon monoxide detector. Instead of reading zero like it usually does, it reads 30. This caused her some concern, although the alarm itself is not beeping. Her husband figures it's a good idea to have someone come check it out so he calls the fire department. A host of firemen descend on their townhouse to see what's what. With their specialized detectors they too get a reading of 30. They generally tell people to leave the premises when it reads 5. Not good.

The firemen investigate and discover that the problem is coming from the unit next door. As my sister explains to me, "not the gay guys to the left, the crazy lady to the right." The firemen go visit the crazy lady.

"Do you have a carbon monoxide detector?"
"Yes."
"Has it been going off?"
"Yes, but the beeping was bothering me so I turned it off." (This is the point when the firemen officially decide that "her elevator doesn't go all the way to the top floor.")
"Were you having headaches?"
"Yes, but I was getting used to them."

She turned off the detector! I don't think I have to describe how pissed my sister is that this nutjob, through her absolute negligence and stupidity, could have literally killed her, her daughter, and her husband. My sister also happens to be 2 months pregnant. I'm pretty sure I saw a CSI where the fetus saved the mother from CO poisoning because it absorbed it at a faster rate. She did call her doctor and things should be ok.

The townhouse is four stories if you count the garage/storage level, and the loft. In the loft there is an exhaust fan, mostly for when it's hot in the summer. It leaks cold air like a sieve in the winter. They had thought about winterizing the house with plastic sheeting and covering it up but didn't get around to it. The firemen said it's probably why they were still alive.

Holy shit. That's really all I can say. Besides sue the crazy lady. And maybe the makers of their own CO detector since it didn't go off as promised.

Comments

How incredibly frightening and maddening. Ditto on your final sentiments.

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