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Accidentally burned coal ash. Am I going to die?

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rats_and_cats
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06 Jan 2017, 6:15 pm

I live in an old house with a coal furnace. My idiot brother's job is to empty the ash buckets. Well apparently he messed that up and the coal heater burned a bunch of ash. Now the whole house smells like a self-cleaning oven on cleaning day, and I have a headache and I'm sick to my stomach. Is this evacuate-the-house-and-call-911 bad? I can't reach Mom on the phone (and she's out of town) and I'm really worried.



kyria_gold
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06 Jan 2017, 6:58 pm

I'd take all the precautions necessary.



rats_and_cats
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06 Jan 2017, 7:05 pm

kyria_gold wrote:
I'd take all the precautions necessary.


I tried. I can get out. My sister refuses because "oh my god you're so pathetic this happens all the time" and I have three dogs, four cats, and two rats and it's cold outside and I don't have enough gas in my car to keep everybody warm. I also don't have friends in town that would appreciate a zoo walking through their door. All our windows are covered with plastic so I can't open them. I might as well just accept my death.



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06 Jan 2017, 7:06 pm

Take the plastic off the windows and open them or at least open your door and turn any fans you have on. You need to air it out....not just for you either, if you have pets that cant be good for them either. I am sure the plastic can be replaced pretty sure your life and your pets lives are more important than replaceable plastic.

You could call 9-11, but theyd probably just tell you to air it out, or send someone over who would then tell you to ventilate to do the same.


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rats_and_cats
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06 Jan 2017, 7:18 pm

I opened all the windows I can. It's an old house that's in disrepair so most of them don't work.

Why didn't I think of that before?



rats_and_cats
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06 Jan 2017, 7:37 pm

My actually intelligent sister called our neighbor and he came over and fixed our radiator.

I'll probably still end up in a Darwin Award anthology but not today.



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06 Jan 2017, 9:54 pm

Is the situation still bad?

Sweetleaf wrote:
Take the plastic off the windows and open them or at least open your door and turn any fans you have on. You need to air it out....not just for you either, if you have pets that cant be good for them either. I am sure the plastic can be replaced pretty sure your life and your pets lives are more important than replaceable plastic.

You could call 9-11, but theyd probably just tell you to air it out, or send someone over who would then tell you to ventilate to do the same.

I'd do this, and possibly see if you can hang out at your neighbor's place while your house airs out.


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rats_and_cats
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06 Jan 2017, 10:29 pm

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:
Is the situation still bad?

Sweetleaf wrote:
Take the plastic off the windows and open them or at least open your door and turn any fans you have on. You need to air it out....not just for you either, if you have pets that cant be good for them either. I am sure the plastic can be replaced pretty sure your life and your pets lives are more important than replaceable plastic.

You could call 9-11, but theyd probably just tell you to air it out, or send someone over who would then tell you to ventilate to do the same.

I'd do this, and possibly see if you can hang out at your neighbor's place while your house airs out.


The house is aired out now. I mentioned this earlier, but the neighbor helped fix the radiator and everything smells normal. I feel better and none of the animals got sick. Still, I should mention it to my mom because she works at a vet clinic so she'd know better than me.



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06 Jan 2017, 10:32 pm

^ I'm glad you didn't die.


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06 Jan 2017, 10:50 pm

How are your pets doing? I'm also glad that you're still alive.


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rats_and_cats
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07 Jan 2017, 12:20 am

CockneyRebel wrote:
How are your pets doing? I'm also glad that you're still alive.


All the pets are acting normal so far. No sneezing or anything. The dogs were outside for most of it. Mom knows what happened so when she gets home she'll make sure everyone's okay.



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07 Jan 2017, 5:23 pm

For future reference if you are concerned about respiratory problems from a gas or smoke, go outside and call 911 if it's urgent, or your local fire department's non emergency number & ask them what to do. If you're not sure if it's an emergency or not, call 911 anyways because smoke/gas inhalation can be lethal in minutes if it's bad enough. They won't fine you for making an unnecessary emergency call for something like that. It's better to err on the side of caution.


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