Carbon Monoxcide Poisoning
Don’t put yourself
or your
family at risk!
January
22nd Thursday 10:00 A.M this morning, a female adult drove an
unconscious male subject to San Bernardino County Fire Station #8, located at
33269 State Route 247, in Lucerne Valley. San Bernardino County Firefighters
immediately started evaluating the 23 year-old male. The subject had no pulse
and was unresponsive. Firefighters immediately started CPR and rendered advance
cardiac life support and transported the subject to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Apple
Valley, where he was later pronounced dead.
Moments
later, San
Bernardino County Fire Dispatch Center received a 9-1-1 call stating there was another
subject at the Laramie address unresponsive. Firefighters responded to the
residence where they found a 28-year-old male unresponsive laying on the garage
floor near a generator. The subject was pronounced dead at the scene.
Using
a carbon
monoxide detector, firefighters received a positive alert of an
extremely high amount of carbon monoxide (CO) inside the garage and home. Upon
firefighter arrival, the garage door had been opened and they still received a
high CO reading, alluding to the fact the CO amounts in the garage and home
were much higher prior to their arrival.
San Bernardino
County Fire Investigators and Sheriff Deputies are conducting a joint death
investigation. Investigators determined the carbon monoxide came from a running
generator found in the garage that was being used to generate power to the
meter. There was no ventilation in the garage.
The
San Bernardino
County Coroner was requested and responded to the scene. Although it
is believed both deaths were caused due to carbon monoxide poison, the
Coroner’s Office will determine the exact cause of death.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless,
colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane,
oil, and methane) are burned. If appliances that burn fuel are maintained and
used properly, the amount of C O produced is usually not hazardous.
San
Bernardino County Fire encourages residents to purchase and install carbon monoxide
detectors following the manufacturer’s instructions. Carbon monoxide detectors do not replace the
need for smoke alarms! Generators
produce high levels of CO in their exhaust. Carbon monoxide around a generator
and its exhaust tube can build up within minutes, even outdoors.
Always
run your generator in a well-ventilated area, and only if you can vent its exhaust
safely. Carbon monoxide can linger for hours, even after the generator is shut
off. If you own a portable generator, you should buy a carbon monoxide detector
now.
Not tomorrow. Not next week. Don’t put
yourself or your family at risk! Just
like your car, generators emit carbon monoxide gas -- the same stuff that kills
people who leave their car running in the garage. Even with the garage door
open, there still isn’t enough ventilation to keep the fumes outside.