Woman dead, child recovering after carbon monoxide leak from furnace in Calgary home

Police say a woman is dead and a child is recovering in a Calgary hospital from carbon monoxide poisoning. Officers were conducting a welfare check at a northeast Calgary home Tuesday, when they found the woman unconscious and the child in critical condition.

Police say the pair were taken to hospital, where the woman later died.

The fire department says an investigation found the colourless and odourless gas was leaking from the home's furnace.

Fire spokeswoman Carol Henke says it's the second carbon monoxide call first responders have received recently. Last week, a man and a child were taken to hospital after a vehicle was left running for hours in a home's attached garage.

``It's just such a tragedy,'' Henke said Wednesday about the woman's death.

``The really frightening thing about carbon monoxide is that unless you have a working alarm in your home, you won't know that you have a carbon monoxide issue.'' She said people should be extra vigilant on cold winter days when furnaces, cars and other gas appliances are working overtime.