Ten people, including five children, were hospitalized Friday morning from carbon monoxide that was caused by a charcoal grill inside a Southside apartment complex, according to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.
JFRD said crews were called out to an apartment in the 9700 block of Baymeadows Road around 4:16 a.m. in response to a sick person. When they arrived, they found several lethargic children, said Capt. Eric Prosswimmer.
Prosswimmer said crews quickly pulled out gas meters only to find "extremely high" levels of carbon monoxide in the apartment. All ten people living there -- eight adults, including five children, were transported to the hospital by JFRD. Two of those people drove themselves, he said.
Upon investigating, crews found that the carbon monoxide emitted from a charcoal grill inside the apartment, he said.
As a precaution, JFRD checked the adjoining apartments. They found high carbon monoxide levels within two of them and pulled the people out of there.
Crews have set up their fans to help clear the air, he said.
"We avoided a really tragic situation," Prosswimmer said. "The problem with carbon monoxide is it's colorless, it's odorless, it's tasteless. It will creep up on you. That's why we went to check the apartments surrounding."
He said neighbors could have been sleeping and unknowingly knocked out from the carbon monoxide, which could have resulted in their deaths.
"Make sure there's plenty of ventilation," he said. "If you have a grill or anything, gas stove, you should have a carbon monoxide detector in your house that should be checked out a couple of times a year."