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BOUNTIFUL — Heather Adair was up early Friday, hoping to check on some neighbors in light of Thursday's massive winds that wreaked havoc in Davis County.
She made a decision to walk one block up from her usual route and, in so doing, saved a couple suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Family members say it took the injured couple almost an hour to crawl to the door in their dazed state. Adair discovered them within inches of the front door of their home at 1962 S. Bonneview Drive around 6:30 a.m.
The woman said she noticed the door was open and then saw the couple.
"They were both crawling towards the door," she said. "It was very alarming to see. I was able to pull them out to the fresh air. It was amazing."
The family had been using a generator that had not been vented properly.
"It was vented, but it was vented incorrectly and it filled the house with carbon monoxide," said firefighter Jeff Bassett.
The couple was taken to an area hospital.
"We thought they were very serious, but after four hours of therapy and treatments, the level in the blood was not significant," South Davis Metro Fire Chief Jim Rampton said.
Still, he said the house tested with 400 parts of carbon monoxide per million — well above the amount that is considered dangerous. "(The amount) is very extensive," Rampton said. "Your little detectors will start alarming at 30 parts per million."
Bassett said the incident is a reminder to others to try to only use secondary heat sources such as generators and kerosene and propane heaters outdoors. "They can cause a lot of problems in a confined space," he said.
Nate Weeks said the experience began for his father, David, and stepmother, April, long before Adair arrived. His father woke up around 4:30 a.m. and felt something was wrong.
"He felt incredibly weak," Nate Weeks said. "He woke up his wife and was able to get them both out of bed and on to the floor and then (they) proceeded to drag themselves to the front door to escape the carbon monoxide."
He said his father doesn't exactly recall how long it took him and his wife to traverse the 40 feet to the front door, but estimated it was close to an hour. Nate Weeks said neither his father nor stepmother remember opening the front door. But he said Adair had "perfect timing."
"I'm very thankful for her for being in tune with the spirits that may be and very thankful that she was there," he said. "Without her, something in this story may have turned for the worst."
As for Adair, Rampton said, "She just felt she needed to go down that road."
Adair said it was "humbling" to be able to do what she did for the Weeks and feels there was something larger than coincidence that led her to them.
"It was not just a 'Well, I happened to walk up there,'" she said. "I think it was more than that."
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Written by Emiley Morgan with contributions from Andrew Adams.
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