Barbecue in kitchen poisons children 'Never, ever bring a lit or smouldering barbecue indoors,' said a firefighter. Photograph: Lawrence Manning/ Lawrence Manning/CORBIS Four young children are recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning after their grandmother brought a barbecue indoors to dry her washing. The woman, who has not been named, set up the lit barbecue in the family kitchen on Wednesday before leaving the house. Her three-year-old granddaughter collapsed when she was overcome by the deadly gas later that afternoon and was treated in hospital with five of her relatives. They were two boys aged two and 10 months, a four-year-old girl and the woman's two daughters-in-law, aged 26 and 29. Firefighters were called to the home in East Ham, east London, on Wednesday afternoon, soon after the grandmother set up the barbecue. A spokesman for London fire brigade said the woman carried the barbecue in from her garden at around 3pm and placed it near the back door to speed up the drying of clothes she had hung out around the kitchen. She then walked out, leaving her daughters-in-law in the house with her grandchildren, two of whom were asleep upstairs. One adult began to feel unwell before the little girl collapsed. All six were later discharged from hospital. Dave Brown, of London Fire Brigade, said: "In my 28-year career I have never heard of anybody using a barbecue to dry clothes let alone using one indoors. Never, ever bring a lit or smouldering barbecue indoors. Not only is it a serious fire risk but it also omits carbon monoxide (CO) which is a poisonous gas that can kill or seriously injure. Last year six-year-old Isabelle Harris, from Gosport, Hampshire, died after her parents brought a disposable barbecue into their tent to keep warm during a break in the New Forest in April. The Department of Health believes 50 people are killed by the gas each year, while at least 4,000 are treated in hospital.