The Fire Service has warned of the dangers of using machinery in confined spaces after a Dunedin man was treated for carbon monoxide inhalation due to a digger working in his basement.
Lookout Point station officer Brent Foster said firefighters were called to a house in Aberdeen Rd, St Clair, just after 2.20pm yesterday, where a man was overcome with fumes from a small digger working in the basement.
When firefighters arrived, workers had taken the man, who was believed to be an occupant of the house, outside for fresh air.
He was given oxygen at the scene and taken to Dunedin Hospital by a St John ambulance for observation.
The man was believed to be helping tradesmen who were working in the basement.
A woman who was upstairs while the digger was working was also given oxygen, but was not taken to hospital.
Mr Foster said there was a lack of ventilation in the basement where the digger was working and the incident highlighted the danger of using machinery in confined spaces.
