Carbon monoxide gas sent a family of four to the hospital around 2:17 a.m. Thursday.
Firefighters were called to the home near Vegas Drive and Decatur Boulevard after getting reports that someone was sick. When they arrived, they found one person in the living room and three others in bedrooms, all of which were semi-conscious and had to be rescued.
Air monitoring equipment detected high amounts of carbon monoxide gas. The meter was all the way to the end, indicating a life-threatening situation.
The victims, two adults and two teens, were taken outside, administered oxygen, and taken to the hospital. They told firefighters they used a charcoal grill in the living room for cooking around 7 p.m., and called firefighters when they all got headaches and felt ill.
Las Vegas Fire and Rescue says that cooking indoors with equipment that's supposed to be used outside can be potentially deadly. Charcoal, wood, or other solid fuels or gas such as propane, butane or natural gas all produce carbon monoxide. Plus, outdoor equipment can be an extreme fire hazard indoors.
Firefighters also say that houses in Las Vegas do not "breath" or have a circulation of air because they're well insulated due to the summer heat. Gas can build up inside the home to deadly levels and last for hours.
Fire officials concluded by saying that outside cooking equipment should never be used inside a home.
