Vail Warns About CO Poisoning Because Of Snow

VAIL, Colo. (CBS4) - Fire officials in Vail are sounding the warnings about carbon monoxide poisoning. They say snow on roofs is causing the problem.

Snow is blocking ventilation through homes, causing carbon monoxide to bottle up in the home.

Vail firefighters have already responded to a handful of CO poisoning cases this week. They recommend that everyone get the snow cleared from their roofs to make sure those vents are not blocked.

Lisa Zimmermann's house was flooded with carbon monoxide on Sunday. She credits CO detectors with saving her life.

"It's in the bathroom heater. They said that's where it got blocked," she said.

"We actually had a reading of 109 parts per million when we first got here," Al Bosworth with the Vail Fire Department said.

Detectors usually go off at 25 parts per million.

"What we have is snow accumulating on the roof," Bosworth said.

A family of four died last year from carbon monoxide poisoning in Aspen. That case helped change state laws regarding CO detectors.