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GALESBURG, N.D. — Hundreds remain without power from this week’s ice storm and it could be for a few more days before power is restored.
One couple who lost power for a couple of days thought they were being extra cautious as they fought to keep the power going to their home.
They still nearly lost their lives.
Alan Paulson was dodging melting ice chunks from trees as he started the cleanup in his yard.
“Scary, probably shouldn’t be under here,” he said as chunks of ice fell.
That wasn’t nearly as scary as what Alan and his wife Sheri experienced Thursday.
“I thought we were safe,” he said.
After losing power, the couple set up a generator outside their garage in Galesburg to help keep their furnace and other appliances running.
The generator was placed about a foot from the garage door, which was closed except for where the power cords ran through.
The exhaust was facing away from the house.
“Probably a quarter-inch on each side,” he said referring to the gap under the garage door where two power cords were running.
It was just enough room for the wind to blow carbon monoxide from the generator back into the garage.
“The furnace probably blew it in around into our house,” he explained.
After having it running for five hours, the couple shut off the generator before bed for safety.
They admit they also took their plug-in carbon monoxide detectors out of the sockets because they kept beeping since the home was without power.
The next morning, the couple woke up with headaches and nausea.
“If we had run that generator all night we would probably not be here,” said Sheri Paulson.
After airing out their home while waiting for first responders to come check for possible carbon monoxide, firefighters still detected levels inside their home at 170 parts per million.
They should be below 10 parts per million.
Carbon monoxide in the human body should be around 3%.
Alan’s was around 40% and Sheri’s around 30%.
The couple spent five hours in the hospital receiving oxygen.
“They said we were very lucky, so that’s why we chose to be honest about this with people and share our story,” said Sheri.
What keeps playing through Alan and Sheri’s minds is the fact that their 2-year-old granddaughter was supposed to come over for the day on Thursday.
“We don’t even want to imagine if she had been with us,” Sheri said.
A couple lucky to be alive is now using the opportunity to share life-saving tips, namely installing battery-operated carbon monoxide detectors and using caution when placing generators.
“A generator should be 25 to 30 feet from your house and should not be near any doors or windows,” Sheri said, citing CDC guidelines.
