Joseph Medeiros was a car mechanic back in the day and had been around carbon monoxide often. None of that mattered on the night of Sunday, Dec. 17 when he and his family were almost overtaken by the odorless, deadly gas.

Down on his luck and on disability from work due to back issues caused by a long career of hauling furniture and appliances, Medeiros had recently become unable to afford the rented home for his family, which included his wife Kristin and her three children from a previous relationship, 17-year-old Shawn, 15-year-old Dylan and 14-year-old Brook.

The family had been living in a mobile recreational vehicle to try and save money. Medeiros said that the situation wasn’t so bad during the summer months, as they could spend time at the beach as a family and temperature wasn’t a concern when they slept.

However, as the New England winter crept into the camper, keeping warm became a real concern. For a month or so, Medeiros had been using a small, propane-fueled heater inside the camper to provide heat. It posed no problems to their health, and so Medeiros figured everything was okay.

Unbeknownst to Medeiros, the only reason the heater had been okay to use inside the camper was because of a hole in the floor that provided ventilation to the toxic fumes generated by its combustion. Thinking that patching the gap would increase the warmth, Medeiros fixed the hole and settled in with his family for a normal night’s sleep.

“I thought I was doing the best and right thing and I almost killed my family,” he said on Tuesday, reflecting on the event that would unfold.

Around 10 p.m. he called out to his wife, who didn’t respond. He called again and still got no response. At that moment, he knew something was wrong and told his kids to call 9-1-1. He started feeling woozy himself, and went outside to get some air. As soon as he got outside, he said, he passed out cold in the snow.

Thankfully, the kids had successfully called an ambulance and help arrived shortly after. The respondents initially thought that the couple had been using drugs, but quickly ascertained they had endured a serious case of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide is a molecule generated in the combustion of fuels such as gasoline or propone. It binds to human red blood cells, replacing oxygen. If the exposure is prolonged enough, the body essentially suffocates, resulting in death. The dangerous thing about carbon monoxide poisoning is that you may not notice symptoms until you have taken in extremely high levels, and those symptoms (headache, dizziness, fatigue) may cause you to drift off to sleep, ultimately causing death as the exposure continues.

In this case, Medeiros was measured at 35 parts per million of carbon monoxide, and his wife was at 40. Their levels were likely higher in the camper prior to being rescued. Lethal levels of carbon monoxide are around 100 parts per million, and noticeable symptoms set in around 50-70 parts per million.

While Medeiros is happy that nothing worse happened, the incident shocked him and made him want to share the experience so others may be more aware of the potential danger of carbon monoxide.

“I thought with carbon monoxide, if you start feeling dizzy and had a headache then that's when you know something is wrong,” he said. “We didn't feel anything. I'm a mechanic, I've been around carbon monoxide a lot working around cars, and I never felt like that, never felt anything. It scared me. People need to know that carbon monoxide is no joke. I almost lost my family.”

Medeiros thanked the quick work of the ambulance crew and Warwick Fire Chief James McLaughlin for checking up on him personally at the hospital. He thanked his kids for their quick reaction time and for saving all of their lives.

“I count my blessings, every chance I get, I get on my knees and thank God,” he said. “I'm proud of my kids and the Warwick Fire Department.”