On Friday, Feb. 19, as I lay resting, my furnace was emitting carbon monoxide and I was falling victim to carbon monoxide poisoning. I am 70 years old and disabled.

My house was filled with toxic fumes and I became extremely ill. By sheer will, I crawled out of bed and called the Yarmouth Police Department for help. Within minutes, the fire department, ambulance and crews were dispatched and were at my house. I was told to leave my house ASAP and was outside with an EMT breathing in the fresh air while the crews were evaluating what was happening.

My furnace was the culprit and my home became very dangerous to occupy. I had to wait outside for a few hours during this time. I have two rescued Maine coon cats that had holed up under my bed and were terribly frightened. I stood with the EMT at my front door stoop with a watchful eye to make sure they didn’t escape. I just couldn’t let that happen. Their lives had already been too traumatic.

It was extremely cold and snowing at the time and I was outside for a few hours. I’m still having a hard time believing this all happened and it will take some time for my body to recover.

I would like to thank the fire department and all the men who came that night. I believe I would not be writing this if it had not been for them. They were well trained, experienced, compassionate and did their jobs well. I don’t know their names but consider them my guardian angels.

About 1:30 a.m. when all was done and the crews were gone, I sat with my cats on my bed as they needed much reassurance that all was OK. The night ended on a positive note, I am happy to say. It could have ended so tragically. I was alive and there was lots of petting, purring and cuddling going on. It doesn’t get any better than that!

The next day, the fire chief checked in on me to see how I was doing. That was so kind and I appreciated his advice, compassion and understanding. Yarmouth is a wonderful community that offers help should the need ever arise. I will be forever grateful.

Maryanne Giggey
Yarmouth