A homeowner's early-morning attempt to fix a malfunctioning boiler ended with nine family members, including seven children, rushed to area hospitals for suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. The 911 call came in around 2:05 a.m. Wednesday from a residence in the Town of Osceola, a rural stretch of Fond du Lac County.
The emergency call originated from a home at W847 County Road B, according to a Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office report relayed by Washington County Insider, a road that winds through farmland near Long Lake. The homeowner called 911 after reporting that multiple people in the house were experiencing symptoms consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning, per the sheriff's office. Investigators later determined the gas was leaking from a malfunctioning boiler unit that the homeowner had been trying to repair, according to WTMJ.
A Scramble to Get Nine Patients Out at Once
The scale of the exposure quickly overwhelmed the first crews on scene. The Eden Fire Department, Campbellsport Ambulance, and a county sheriff's deputy responded initially, but the severity of symptoms among the nine family members forced them to call in additional transport help from Fond du Lac Fire & Rescue and Mount Calvary Ambulance, the outlet's report states.
Eight people were ultimately taken to hospitals, including six children, WTMJ's report notes. Those six ranged in age from 4 to 17 — specifically 4, 7, 9, 12, 14 and 17 — and were hospitalized with severe symptoms. A 46-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman were also hospitalized, along with a ninth patient, a 16-year-old, bringing the total to seven minors and two adults treated for the suspected poisoning.
All Nine Treated and Released
By the end of the day Wednesday, every one of the nine family members had been treated and released from area hospitals, according to the updated sheriff's office report published by the same outlet. Prompt medical care and oxygen treatment are typically effective at reversing acute carbon monoxide toxicity, and the outcome here tracks with that pattern. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office said the incident remains under investigation.
The sheriff's office also used the incident to remind residents to check their carbon monoxide and smoke detectors ahead of the colder months, a routine seasonal warning that carries extra weight given how this particular case unfolded. It remains unknown whether the Osceola home had functioning detectors installed on every floor, as required under state law.
What Wisconsin Law Requires of Homeowners
Under Wisconsin Statute § 101.647, every single-family and two-family home with fuel-burning appliances, a fireplace, or an attached garage must have working carbon monoxide detectors in the basement and on each floor level other than an attic, garage, or storage area, according to guidance published by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. The requirement, enacted under 2009 Wisconsin Act 158, applies retroactively regardless of when a home was built.
Property owners who fail to fix or replace a nonfunctional detector within five days of written notice can face daily fines of $50 under a separate statute, according to compliance guidelines from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. In rented homes, state law assigns installation of carbon monoxide detectors to the owner and ongoing maintenance to the occupant.
Carbon Monoxide Risks in Wisconsin
Accidental carbon monoxide exposure remains a concern in Wisconsin. A decade-long analysis in the Wisconsin Medical Journal, drawing on 3,703 exposure records logged by the Wisconsin Poison Center between 2006 and 2016, found that large-scale poisonings involving five or more victims made up 4.8 percent of all cases statewide, and furnaces or water heaters were the most common source in 20.2 percent of those mass incidents.
The Osceola case highlights the serious risks of carbon monoxide exposure. The danger isn't hypothetical: nine family members required treatment after the Osceola leak.
