Yesterday morning, the reporter came to Mr. Luo's village. At the house of Mr. Li's parents where the incident happened, Ms. Chen was sorting through her husband's belongings and lamented, "If only I had gone with old Mr. Li, this wouldn't have happened..." Upon seeing the reporter, Ms. Chen could not hide her grief and repeatedly said this sentence. After a while, under the persuasion of her family, Ms. Chen's emotions gradually improved. She told the reporter that at around 10 o'clock on the morning of December 21st, she had just finished her night shift and went home to sleep. In her daze, she heard someone knocking on the door, saying that her in-laws had not gotten up yet. Upon hearing this, her husband, Mr. Li, immediately rushed to his parents' house in the same village. Unfortunately, ten minutes later, Ms. Chen received the terrible news.
Yesterday afternoon, a doctor from the Emergency Department of Jiaozhou People's Hospital told the reporter that using coal stoves for heating can easily lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, which can cause pulmonary edema, cerebral edema, difficulty breathing, arrhythmia, and severe cases may even result in respiratory center paralysis and death within a short time. The doctor reminded the public to ensure good ventilation when using coal for heating at home or using gas water heaters, and it is best to let the coal burn completely and minimize sealing the stove. If you find someone suffering from coal smoke poisoning, quickly move the patient to a well-ventilated area and immediately call 120.
During the interview, 71-year-old witness Mr. Yang, who lived across from Mr. Li's parents, told the reporter, "When I got up to take out the trash, I asked him what was wrong, but he didn't say anything. Then he started kicking the door fiercely, and the wooden door fell directly onto his head." He added that at 9:30 am on December 21st, he went outside to take out the trash. A milk deliveryman came to deliver milk to the elderly couple, but no matter how much the deliveryman knocked on the door, there was no response from inside the yard. Soon after, he saw Mr. Li's eldest son running over. After failing to get a response by calling out, Mr. Li began kicking the wooden door fiercely. Regrettably, the wooden door collapsed due to the violent impact and fell directly onto Mr. Li, leaving him lying on the ground covered in blood and unable to move. Seeing this, Mr. Yang quickly ran into the yard to inform the elderly couple.
"Only when I smelled a suffocating coal smoke did I realize they were also in trouble," Mr. Yang said. He noticed through the window that the elderly couple was lying motionless on the bed, so he hurriedly informed Mr. Li's family, who then sent all three victims to the hospital for treatment. Unfortunately, Mr. Li eventually died from his severe injuries.
The reporter learned that Ms. Chen and Mr. Li had been married for 26 years and had two daughters. Their 25-year-old elder daughter was already married, and their 13-year-old younger daughter was in the first year of junior high school. Regarding Mr. Li's death, his family had not yet informed the elderly couple. "Both of Mr. Li's sons have average living conditions, but they are truly filial to their elders," Mr. Yang told the reporter. The elderly Mr. Li and his wife had two sons; the deceased was their eldest son. In everyday life, both sons competed to provide their elders with daily necessities and subscribed to milk for them to improve their nutrition. Mr. Li was also always ready to help his neighbors and would do whatever he could to assist whenever anyone was in need. "Such a good person, gone just like that...," many villagers expressed regret over Mr. Li's passing.
"Old Mr. Li, it's my fault. If only I had gone with you, this wouldn't have happened," yesterday morning, 46-year-old Ms. Chen from Luo's Village in Jiaozhou City tightly clutched the shoes left behind by her deceased husband and still couldn't accept everything that had happened a few days ago... At around 10 o'clock on the morning of December 21st, Ms. Chen's in-laws were poisoned by coal smoke at home. Her husband, Mr. Li, immediately rushed to his parents' house and kicked the door down, but the violently impacted wooden door fell onto Mr. Li, causing fatal injuries. The reporter learned yesterday that the elderly couple had been saved in time and were out of danger.
Before bedtime, the elderly couple sealed the coal stove, leading to their poisoning. To avoid any aftermath, they still needed to stay in the hospital for observation and treatment for some time.
Using coal for heating requires attention to ventilation.