PROVO, Utah (ABC 4 News) - 6 female BYU students are recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning after the furnace at their rental unit apparently malfunctioned.

The students turned the furnace on Wednesday and woke up Thursday morning feeling sick. They immediately called BYU EMS and sought medical attention.

The women were eventually treated in the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center's hyperbaric chamber.

Hyperbaric doctors said, "From our standpoint, this was a near disaster. These young women could just as easily have ended up dead."

The women were treated Thursday and Friday in the hyperbaric chamber, but are expected to make a full recovery.

Experts warn that all furnaces need to be checked every year.