A 55-year-old man has died and three other men have been taken to hospital after suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at a Mount Gambier home in South Australia’s south-east this morning.
Emergency services were called to the home on Penola Road just before 9am, initiating a HAZMAT response because of concerns about potentially hazardous gas.
On arrival, firefighters found four occupants unconscious in a back room.
Police have since confirmed that one of the four people has died.
“Sadly, a 55-year-old man died at the scene,” police said in a statement.
“Three other occupants were taken to hospital for treatment of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.”
SA Health said those three occupants were all men, aged in their 50s through to their 70s.
It said the three men had been taken to Mount Gambier hospital, and that they were all in a stable condition.
Firefighters were called to Penola Road just before 9am. (ABC News: Aiden McNamara)
Police said the incident was being investigated but was not believed “to be suspicious at this time”.
While the exact circumstances of the Mount Gambier incident are unclear, the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) has previously warned about carbon monoxide being a “silent killer” because it has no smell, taste, or colour.
According to SafeWork SA, symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure include headache, nausea or vomiting, breathlessness, drowsiness, impaired judgement, collapse and coma.
The MFS said eight firefighters attended the Mount Gambier property, and that crews wore breathing apparatus when they entered the home.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.