Annual memorial fundraiser being held for carbon monoxide poisoning awareness
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POCATELLO– After her brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews were killed in their sleep due to carbon monoxide poisoning, Carrie Curtis has worked to educate others about the dangers of the toxic gas.
“They did not have a detector in their home, not one, and that’s why they died,” Curtis says. “They didn’t know that they were being poisoned by carbon monoxide.”
The Parrish family were beside themselves at the loss of Bill and Ross Parrish and their two sons, Keegan, 14, and Liam, 12, in February 2014. Since the tragedy, Bill’s sister Carrie Curtis, and her husband Brian Curtis wanted to make a difference. It led them to start a non-profit organization called the No C.O. Foundation to educate the public about the dangers of carbon monoxide and provide families with a detector.
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Curtis urges families to have at least one detector in their home even if they feel there isn’t a direct threat. She said carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas can come from other sources than just gas appliances. It can also come from wood-burning fireplaces, generators, and car exhaust.
“It’s just the byproduct of incomplete burning of fuel, and you may have a hot water heater and your furnace on the basement floor but you may have a ranger, a wood burning stove, or a gas burning stove that’s going to release that carbon monoxide,” Curtis says.
Each year, the foundation partners with the Chubbuck Lion’s club and other sponsors hold a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. The fifth annual tournament will be held August 3 and 4 at the Holt Arena.
“It’s a blast. There’s going to be a ton of food. There’s going to be 20 different courts that are sponsored by amazing companies throughout southeast Idaho,” Curtis says.
Curtis said the No C.O. Foundation will be giving away detectors at the event as well as providing information about Carbon Monoxide.
“We’ve been doing our best to try and get carbon monoxide detectors in the homes of southeast Idaho and anywhere that somebody needs it. We’ll ship it to them,” Curtis says.
Curtis says the first 10 female teams to register for the tournament can receive a free registration thanks to the Portneuf Medical Center and the Phil Meador Group.
For more information on registration, CLICK HERE, and for informaton on No C.O., go to COKills.org.