Buchanan siblings collecting money for CO detectors after scare

BUCHANAN, Mich. - After having a carbon monoxide scare last summer, a group of siblings in Buchanan is collecting money to buy CO detectors for their neighbors who can't afford it.

The Carlin family had just moved into a new house in Buchanan in July 2016, when they had an accident.

"My sister woke up and told my mom that she felt sick," said the oldest of the three Carlin kids, nine-year-old Cy Carlin.

"I heard our little one making kind of weird noises from her bed, and I went to get her and she was just very lethargic, so by the time I picked her up and realized she was to the point of unconscious, I then noticed that I felt really weird, and so I didn’t really know what was going on, but I knew that there was something that wasn’t right, so in my brain, it was just screaming to me to get out of the house," said mother of three, Stacey Carlin.

"She had to hold my baby sister with one arm and drag her down the stairs with another arm, and I was up there, and I was just in my pajamas, and I was so scared, and it was just probably the scariest thing that ever happened," said Cy.

"[I] waited the longest ten minutes of my life while my baby was unconscious," said Stacey.

“We figured that since that happened to us, we don’t want that to happen to any other families in Buchanan, so why not raise money for carbon monoxide detectors?" said her son.

The kids started with Cy writing a letter and reading it to his school.

In part, it said, “If we would have had a detector, we could have avoided that whole situation. We want to make sure that no other families in Buchanan have that type of disaster. My sisters and I are raising money to buy detectors for families in our town who can’t afford to buy one."

You can find collection jugs in at least the following businesses in downtown Buchanan:

*Pure Rituals
*Union Coffee House & Cafe
*Gary Z's Sub Shop 
*Redbud Hardware
*Phillips 66 Gas
*Milano Take-Out Pizza of Buchanan
*Pizza Hut

The kids ask that you put any loose change you may have in the jugs you see decorated with seven-year-old Katala's artwork and Cy's letter.

"I just assumed that we had one, and really in the hustle and bustle of the move, I didn’t think to check. That will never be the case again. Now, we do have a carbon monoxide detector and we want every home to have a carbon monoxide detector," said Stacey.

"When something bad happens, and then you just do something good, and it’s like that never happens. It just replaces all the negative things with positive things. It just feels great," said Cy.

In addition to donating loose change to the jugs scattered around Buchanan, you can donate at any local Honor Credit Union branch to the account 'Carlin Kids for CO Detectors.'

You have until December 31 to donate.

The LOK Wishing Tree Foundation has pledged 150 free detectors to the siblings, and the family is now looking for 15 businesses that would be interested in donating 10 CO detectors each to match the non-profit's contribution.

Distribution day for the detectors will be on Saturday, January 6 at the Buchanan Fire Department from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.