Three Cedar Rapids girls are hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning after police say a generator being used in a garage during the power outage produced dangerously high levels of the gas Thursday night.
In a Facebook post, Cedar Rapids Police say they found a 14 year old girl unconscious around 10:00 pm. in the 700 block of 16th Street NW. Two nine year old girls were also ill.
Police are urging Iowans to make sure generators are at least 20 feet away from the house and the exhaust is pointed away from the house.
"Until power is restored and the use of generators is prevelant, there is a serious safety concern in our community regarding the use of generators," police said in the post.