Lee County family has close call with carbon monoxide

Jaclyn DiGrazio said she’s thankful to be alive and well with her husband and two daughters after a carbon monoxide scare in their home.

“It’s just heartbreaking to think about what could’ve happened,” DiGrazio said.

When they got to the house, they had a gas stove put in. They put the detector in the kitchen so it wouldn’t detect any fumes coming off of that Without the detector, they might not be alive today.

“Well, you really need to leave the house ma’am,” said ADT Emergency Dispatcher Fred Cannon in a 911 call.

The alarm company alerted the family about the danger in the middle of the night.

He met the family he saved with that call Friday morning.

“Every evening when I go to bed, one of my prayers is that I can make a difference,” Cannon said.

“I’m just grateful that he was there that night for us,” DiGrazio said.

When the fire department arrived, they discovered the family’s vehicle had been left running in the garage with the door closed by mistake.

That sent toxic fumes creeping into their house.

“They would not have survived by the morning,” said Estero Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Vanderbrook.

The reunion with the family was emotional for him too.

“It’s emotional,” Vanderbrook said. “I have an 8-year-old daughter.”

Now the family checks to make sure the car is turned off before going to bed, and they suggest everyone have a carbon monoxide detector put in their home.

“There was a possibility that we wouldn’t have woken up if we hadn’t had it,” DiGrazio said.

A tragedy she hopes to prevent in other homes across Southwest Florida.

In addition to making sure your car is turned off, the fire department says to never run generators in your garage during a power outage, because those fumes could kill you too.