Tuesday night at 10:45 PM, the West Bend Fire Department was dispatched to a smoke detector alarm at a townhouse style apartment building. The occupant said they saw no smoke or flames.

While investigating the alarm firefighters used gas meters to determine if there were any potential reasons for the sounding of the alarm.

The crew found elevated levels of carbon monoxide (CO). CO is a colorless and odorless gas that is the product of incomplete combustion. Usual sources of carbon monoxide are furnaces and water heaters, or cars that have been running in the garage. The only gas appliance in the residence was the furnace, and no cars had been run in the garage.

Firefighters checked the units on either side of the unit where the alarm sounded. They found elevated levels of carbon monoxide, and located the source of the carbon monoxide.

The occupant in an adjoining unit had put their charcoal grill in the garage after grilling. Charcoal was still smoldering in the grill in the closed garage.

The West Bend Fire Department reminds everyone to not leave any unattended grills indoors, as well as not grill in the garage. Grills in use should be at least ten feet from a structure.

The carbon monoxide levels in the residences in this instance reached levels that were dangerous for the occupants.