Hello, All,
Please forgive my tardiness in updating the blog; life gets hectic at times.
We recently welcomed four baby ducks to our fold—a true sign that spring is here!
That said, CO poisonings from furnaces have not yet abated this year, which is alarming. And, as you’ll see below, CO from other sources is a year-round problem.
I’m changing the format a bit today, since so many of the links expire and it’s a real pain to keep pasting all those URLs into blog format. For today, I’ll provide you with the headlines and a synopsis of the story, and if you want to find a particular link, please feel free to email me at lynnehthom@gmail.com and I’ll get you additional information!
Mother claims daughter died because of pool heater
4/13/2009 10:45 AM
By Justin Anderson -Kanawha Bureau
CHARLESTON - A Morgantown woman claims an improperly vented swimming pool heater emitted toxic levels of carbon monoxide and killed her daughter during a sleepover.
Sandra K. Leuellen filed a lawsuit in Kanawha Circuit Court March 25 against Brogan Rose Jr., Pentair Inc., Pentair Water Pool and Spa, Pentair Pool Products, Viking Pools and Hagedorn's Inc.
Rose is the owner of the home where the sleepover occurred; Hagedorn's supplied the liquefied petroleum gas that powered the pool heater; the other defendants are described as the manufacturers and sellers of the heater.
Lueellen claims her daughter, Cheyenne Hise, died during a sleepover at the Rose residence on Aug. 11, 2008...
Carmel Ice Skadium part of ESPN report tonight
IndyStar.com
By Mark Ambrogi
Posted: April 14, 2009
A December incident at Carmel Ice Skadium will be included in a segment of "Danger in the Air" at 7 p.m. today on ESPN's "E:60" about the problem of air pollution in ice rinks nationally.
Carmel Ice Skadium had to be temporarily evacuated due to a carbon monoxide problem Dec. 20. Ten people were hospitalized after feeling dizzy and nauseated....
Quick Thinking Saves Uniontown Family From Carbon Monoxide
City Workers To Be Honored Friday
Posted: 8:04 pm EDT April 16, 2009
Updated: 11:45 pm EDT April 16, 2009
UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- A 12-year-old girl along with police and 911 dispatchers are being called heroes for their quick action that saved a family from their carbon monoxide filled home.
Veteran Dispatcher Colleen Rummell received a hang-up cell call early Tuesday morning.
She followed agency procedures and called the number back.
The caller, Nailah Letts, was difficult to understand but with what information was received and the gut instinct that comes with years of taking emergency calls, crews rushed to the Lincoln Street home.
"When I got up to answer the door when they were knocking, I didn't know what door they were at," she said. "I couldn't get there fast enough and I passed out."
Police immediately asked the fire department to come and check for high levels of carbon monoxide. It was determined that the level was 900 ppm, well above the recommended federal level for evacuation of 800 ppm...
11 sent to hospital after carbon monoxide leak in Carpentersville home
April 17, 2009
From Staff Reports
CARPENTERSVILLE – Eleven occupants of a home here were taken to two local hospitals because of elevated levels of carbon monoxide in the home at in the 70 block of Wren Road.
Police received a call from the residence at 1:34 p.m. Thursday, stating that residents were feeling ill because of a possible carbon monoxide leak, reports said. Once inside the home, firefighters discovered two dead birds in a cage and elevated levels of carbon monoxide. Occupants said the birds were fine Wednesday night. Reports said the carbon monoxide came from a malfunctioning furnace and oven.
Eleven people inside this Carpentersville home were transported to two Elgin hospitals as a result of a carbon monoxide leak on Wednesday.
Two of the 11 occupants complained of feeling ill, reports said. Due to the dead birds and elevated gas levels, firefighters transported six adults and five children – ranging in age from 11 month to 37 years – to Sherman Hospital and Provena St. Joseph Hospital for treatment. Sherman Hospital reported that nine of the victims brought there were all in good condition Thursday afternoon. Provena reported the other two victims, both adults, were stable and expected to be released later Thursday.
Carbon Monoxide Scare Leads To Evacuations
Last Update: 4/17 8:56 pm
Dozens of residents are back in their apartments tonight, after a Carbon Monoxide scare in Provo.
About 75 people were evacuated from the complex located near 2200 North and Canyon Road late this afternoon.
Authorities said a man who cleans the apartments apparently left his truck running in the underground garage. Fumes reportedly seeped into the building, setting off several CO detectors.
Officers aired out the building, and let everyone back inside. No one reported getting sick from the gas.
3 children found dead in central Mo. house fire
Apr 17, 2009
HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. (AP) — Three young siblings were found dead after a fire swept through their home early Friday morning, just three months after another fire killed two children in this rural central Missouri town.
The children's mother, another woman and her child were able to escape. An autopsy found that the three children died of carbon monoxide poisoning from the fire, said Callaway County Sheriff Dennis Crane.
The bodies of 4-year-old Chance Wilkerson and 2-year-old Gracie Wilkerson were found on the floor of their bedrooms. But the flames became too intense and firefighters had leave before their 6-year-old brother, Trevor Smith, could be found, Crane said. His body was recovered after the fire was contained.
The woman and child who survived were in the basement of the house, where the fire started, and were able to get the victims' mother, Elizabeth Nix, 24, out of the house, Crane said. The names of the other two survivors were not released.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Two sisters, ages 3 and 5, died Jan. 16 in a fire in a mobile home in Holts Summit. Before that blaze, the town of about 3,600 had gone 10 years without a fire fatality.
Carbon monoxide poisoning killed 2 children in fire, coroner says
By CHRIS TRAINOR/ ctrainor@indexjournal.com
Thursday, April 23, 2009 8:51 AM EDT
Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office has released its initial report on a fire that ravaged a Parkland Place Road home on Saturday, killing two young children and sending three family members to the hospital.
The Saturday fire at 514 Parkland Place claimed the lives of Alisha Makins, 4, and Arian Makins, 3. Meanwhile, their mother, Crystal Reed, 12-year-old brother, Jarod Reed and infant sister, Arianna Makins, were all airlifted to Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta.
Monday autopsies revealed Arian and Alisha Makins officially died of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to Greenwood County Chief Deputy Coroner Marcia Kelley-Clark.
Family Survives Carbon Monoxide That Nearly Took Their Lives
Kristy Steeves, Fox 8 News
April 20, 2009
A dangerous carbon monoxide leak inside a home causes a woman and her children to barely escape with their lives.
By the time the Mansfield Fire Department arrived at a home on Sackman Street they say A'doo Chia-Kur and her three children only had minutes left to live.
Investigators say Chia-Kur and her children were unresponsive when they got to the house.
A'doo told FOX 8 that her 3-year-old son, Zyion, had gotten up in the middle of the night complaining of a stomach ache so she put him in bed with her. Hours later she woke up. Zyion was laying unconscious next to her.
"He was just laying there. I kept nudging him and he wouldn't move," she explained.
A'doo says her heart was beating fast. She felt like she was dying. "I was very lethargic, headache. I couldn't move".
A'doo says she didn't have the strength to call 911 so she hit a button on her touch screen phone. Her best friend, Andrea Brooks, answered.
Andrea says her friend said, "Andrea I'm feeling (like I'm going) to die", and then the phone went dead.
Andrea called 911. When firefighters arrived they had to break in through the front door.
Andrea says she headed for the childrens' bedroom. There she found 5-year-old twins, Marquesia and A'lesia, unconscious. "One of the twins was laying face down on the floor and the other one was passed out on the bed".
The family of four was rushed to the hospital where they recovered from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Mansfield Fire Chief John Harsch says a vent pipe on the furnace, which become dislodged, was the cause of the leak.
Six Hospitalized After Possible CO Poisoning
Reported by: Lance Barry
Last Update: 4/22 9:27 am
At least six Springdale residents, including five children, are in the hospital after reportedly suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning early Wednesday morning.
The poisoning happened in a condominium complex in the 600 block of Bancroft Circle just after 6 a.m. According to officials, the residents called 911 after they began to suffer flu-like symptoms.
Officials say at least one adult was taken to University Hospital and five children were taken to Children's Hospital for treatment. Their names and conditions have not been released.
C'ville landlord cited after 11 sent to hospital
Code violations included faulty furnace, too many occupants
April 24, 2009
By CIGI ROSS cross@scn1.com
CARPENTERSVILLE -- The landlord of a rental property here has been cited following a carbon monoxide leak in the house that sent 11 people to the hospital.
Firefighters were called to the home at 72 Wren Road on April 16 after residents called police complaining that some in the house were feeling ill, police reports said. Once inside the house, firefighters discovered two dead birds in a cage and elevated levels of carbon monoxide. The 11 people who had been inside the home at the time were treated at area hospitals and released the same day.
Village Manager Craig Anderson said Thursday that the village had given the property's landlord a notice of violation for unsafe mechanical equipment. Firefighters had determined the cause of the carbon monoxide leak was a malfunctioning furnace. The property did not have any working fire or carbon monoxide detectors, according to authorities.
Police suspect carbon monoxide in family's death
SAN ANTONIO -- Authorities are investigating the deaths of three people who may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The three were found in a San Antonio home on Thursday.
San Antonio police detective Raymond Roberts said a vehicle parked inside the garage was allowed to run until its fuel tank emptied.
Neighbors called the police at the request of friends who had gone to check on the family, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
All three bodies were found upstairs and there were no signs of trauma. Police Chief William McManus called the deaths unusual because no force appeared to have been used.
A hazardous materials crew has checked the house for any poisonous gas or airborne contaminants.
04/28/2009 12:49 AM
Carbon Monoxide Levels Force Astoria Residents To Evacuate
By: Samuel King
At least 40 people had to be evacuated from their homes Monday in Astoria due to elevated levels of carbon monoxide.
Con Edison says it was caused by smoldering cables underground on Crescent Street in Astoria. Neighbors say they lost power and were told to leave their homes.
"I went outside, there was a little bit of smoke. I went inside again, came back out after 15 minutes and the wires were jumping and there was more smoke. I went to the drug store and came back, and I was told I could not go into my house," said Astoria resident Angela Lopis.
Power was restored by Monday evening.
Con Edison says it will evaluate what caused the incident to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Columbus school evacuated because of fumes
By Deuce Niven
WHITEVILLE — An electrical problem was the apparent source of fumes that sent carbon monoxide levels at Columbus Christian Academy High School to an unsafe level Monday morning, said Deputy Columbus County Fire Marshal Jeff Bell.
A secretary at the school was sickened by the odor and sought treatment from her doctor, said Kay Worley, the deputy Emergency Services director.
It will be up to county electrical inspectors to determine when classes may resume for the 105 students at the private school on Alliance Drive, Bell said.
The Brunswick Fire Department answered the 911 call from the school before 9 a.m., Bell said. Students and staff were evacuated as fire officials worked to determine the source of the odor.
A carbon monoxide detector showed worrisome levels of the odorless, deadly gas.
A hazardous materials team from Lake Waccamaw Fire & Rescue responded, and their equipment showed much higher carbon monoxide levels.
“They cut all the power to the building, and the levels went down to normal,” Bell said.
Electrical contractors were at the school Monday afternoon, Worley said. Efforts to contact Principal Deb Edwards were not successful.
28 Treated For Carbon Monoxide Exposure
Halfway House Being Ventilated
POSTED: 10:48 pm CDT April 29, 2009
UPDATED: 7:21 am CDT April 30, 2009
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Twenty-eight people were treated for possible carbon monoxide poisoning Wednesday night.
The exposure was reported at a halfway house in downtown Kansas City at Truman Road and Campbell Street.
KMBC's Brenda Washington reported that 44 people were in the building; 28 were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Some were treated and released.
The victims were complaining about not feeling well when emergency crews were called.
The house is being ventilated, officials said.
The cause is under investigation.
Four children suffering carbon monoxide poisoning are airlifted to hospital. Police say they were overcome by fumes in car
by The Grand Rapids Press
Wednesday April 29, 2009, 11:49 PM
CADILLAC -- Four children overcome by carbon monoxide fumes Wednesday night were airlifted to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital for treatment, but their conditions weren't immediately known.
City Fire Capt. Jeff Holly said the children were riding in a car with their mother when she noticed they were not responsive.
She took them to Mercy Hospital and authorities were contacted about 9:10 p.m., Holly said. The children later were transferred to Grand Rapids.
Holly, who declined to release the patients' ages, said it wasn't clear how the carbon monoxide entered the car or how long they were inside the vehicle.
