CHATHAM, Mass. -- Officials discovered an object stuck in a home's flue was the cause of four cases of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The family -- a couple, their daughter and 5-year-old granddaughter -- were taken from a home at 100 Mills Road in Chatham. They all were sick for about a month and a half, thinking it was a bad case of the flu.
On Monday, Joanne Vachon called 911 and reported that her husband, Rick, was having a heart attack. He was taken to the hospital, but doctors sent him home believing that is was a false alarm.
The next day, everyone in the home woke up sick.
Firefighters showed up at the house with a carbon monoxide detector.
"As soon as they walked in, their bells and whistles went off, we were at a very high level," said Rick Vachon, the homeowner and carbon monoxide poisoning victim.
Officials discovered an old soda can in the chimney, causing a buildup of dust and trapping the carbon monoxide.
The family was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and spent two hours in a hyperbaric chamber.
"It could have got quite worse, they could have died" said Chief Michael Ambriscoe, of the Chatham Fire Department.
The family has fully recovered.
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