Shoreline family being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning

Early this morning, a family of five was taken to a local hospital to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning after burning coal or charcoal in a small stove in their Shoreline living room, said Shoreline Fire Department spokeswoman Melanie Granfors.

"They were lucky because this could be just like Burien if things had gone differently," she said, referring to the discovery yesterday that a family of four had died after inhaling fumes from a gas generator.

Around 2:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a unit at the Colonial Gardens apartment complex at 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 150th Street, where two adults and three teenagers were reporting severe headaches and nausea, symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, Granfors said.

The stove the family had been using had gone out, she said. "If they'd have put more coal on and kept going, we could've seen more tragedy," Granfors said.