MARION, Ky. -- A group of Boy Scouts handing out food and water to needy residents in storm-plagued western Kentucky came to the aid of an elderly couple suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Scouts from Troop 30 in Marion were going door-to-door Wednesday in rural Crittenden County when they arrived at a house with a generator sitting near the front door.
Zach Sizemore, a 15-year-old sophomore at Crittenden County High School, said the scouts noticed a woman at the house was lethargic and not making sense.
Sizemore said his first-aid training came in handy when the woman complained about a twitch in her face.
"She said she thought she was having a stroke," said Sizemore.
The couple were taken by ambulance to a hospital. Medical officials determined they had been exposed to carbon monoxide, according to a statement provided by the Emergency Operation Center in Benton, a communications hub for emergency workers.
The dangerous gas has been blamed for several deaths in Kentucky since ice storms cut power to hundreds of thousands of residents. The prime culprit has been the misuse of fuel-powered generators.
The statement did not identify the couple. The author of the statement, Keith Todd, a spokesman for the state Transportation Department, said the couple lived in a rural area and did not have phone service.
Sizemore's father, scout leader Dennis Sizemore, said the couple appeared to be in their 80s.
"If we wouldn't have got there, it could have been worse," Dennis Sizemore said.
The scouts also helped moved the couple's generator away from their house.
Zach Sizemore, who has been scouting for nine years, said he has felt compelled to get out and assist needy neighbors since the storm hit.
"The community has to unite, and I feel if you're able to work, you should," he said.
Dennis Sizemore said the scouts in Crittenden County were not giving out the FEMA-provided meals that contained peanut butter. State officials on Thursday asked residents who received those meals to discard the peanut butter packet due to salmonella concerns.
