Emergency crews responded to the Northfield Retirement Community Parkview West Building early on Friday morning concerning high carbon monoxide levels. Parkview West is an independent living facility.
According to a press release from the City of Northfield, The Northfield Police Department, Northfield Area Fire & Rescue Service, Emergency Medical Services from Northfield Hospital and Clinics, and Rice County Emergency Management responded to the scene. Fire crews determined high levels of carbon monoxide in the building. First responders working with NRC staff were able to evacuate all the residents of the building.
Fire crews monitored CO levels in hallways and individual residences while checking each living unit for residents. EMS crews evaluated 50 residents and treated one for asthma-related symptoms. No residents were transported to the hospital. Fire crews ventilated the building and re-tested air quality several times for over 2 hours before residents were allowed back into the building once CO levels were gone.
An investigation by Northfield Police into the cause of the CO revealed a resident had moved their car inside a garage in the building Thursday night to avoid hail damage with the storms that rolled through the area. The car equipped with push button ignition, was inadvertently left running at that time and ran overnight in the closed garage. As a result, CO entered the hallway areas of the building.
The staff of the Northfield Retirement Community were thanked for being “extremely helpful in caring for residents during the evacuation period.” The NRC is working with Fire Chief & Fire Code Official Tom Nelson on a plan for installing the required CO detection in the building. A temporary solution was installed by the end of the day Friday.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric announced today 22 awardees of a grant program aimed at preventing carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. The state and local governments were selected by CPSC, from a group of 31 applicants. CPSC will provide more than $3 million in federal Carbon Monoxide Poisoning PreventionGrant Program (COPPGP) funds that will be matched by $1 million in recipient funds. This will fund state and local government efforts to reduce deaths and injuries from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning PreventionGrant Program Awards
Awardee
State
Award Amount
Alaska Department of Public Safety
Alaska
$100,000.00
City of Huntington Beach
California
$53,400.00
City & County of Denver
Colorado
$82,500.00
Government of District of Columbia
District of Columbia
$130,000.00
State of Georgia Department of Public Health
Georgia
$178,577.93
City of Aurora
Illinois
$51,000.00
Louisiana State Fire Marshal
Louisiana
$37,500.00
Maryland Department of State Police
Maryland
$200,000.00
City of Boston
Massachusetts
$260,031.75
City of Pontiac
Michigan
$300,000.00
Minnesota Department of Public Safety
Minnesota
$200,000.00
New Hampshire Department of Safety
New Hampshire
$90,772.50
City of Jamestown
New York
$176,297.23
City of Syracuse
New York
$50,000.00
County of Rockland
New York
$100,000.00
Gates Fire District
New York
$50,000.00
City of Akron
Ohio
$76,460.00
City of Portland
Oregon
$320,000.00
City of Sevierville
Tennessee
$41,250.00
Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance
Tennessee
$300,000.00
Vermont Department of Public Safety
Vermont
$50,772.01
Central Pierce Fire & Rescue
Washington
$187,500.00
CPSC’s grant program is authorized through the Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2022 to provide eligible state, local, and tribal governments with grants to purchase and install CO alarms in residential homes and dwelling units of low-income families or elderly people and facilities that serve children or the elderly, including childcare centers, public schools and senior centers, and to develop training and public education programs with the goal of preventing CO poisoning. This legislation was sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) in the Senate, and Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Georgia) and Rep. Annie Kuster (D-New Hampshire) in the House. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on March 15, 2022.
“Following the deaths of two boys from carbon monoxide poisoning in their home, Congress enacted this grant program to prevent future tragedies. I am pleased that we are moving forward with these 22 grants to states and localities that will enable them to educate their residents and prevent CO poisoning in their communities,” said CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric.
Grantees will have two years to use the funding to purchase and install CO alarms and complete training and education efforts.
The burning of fuels produces CO, which is a colorless, odorless gas. Exposure to unhealthy levels of CO can lead to CO poisoning, a serious health condition that could result in death. Unintentional CO poisoning from motor vehicles and fuel-burning appliances, such as furnaces, water heaters, portable generators, and stoves, annually kill more than 400 individuals. CO alarms save lives and should be installed on every level and outside sleeping areas in residences.
Denise was scheduled to work at the clinic in early February, but she never showed up…the 67-year-old was found unconscious in her home because of carbon monoxide poisoning. On Feb. 3, she died in the hospital…it’s possible the carbon monoxide detectors weren’t working.”
Two people are dead and one is in the hospital from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning near Princeton, about 50 miles north of Minneapolis.
The Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a house in Princeton Township shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday for an initial report of a possible overdose.
When they arrived, they found one person dead in an upstairs bedroom, along with a semi-conscious dog. The man was identified as 27-year-old Marcos Larson of Princeton.
Deputies also found a woman and cat, both deceased, in another location in the house. The woman’s name has not yet been released.
The woman who called 911 was taken to a Princeton hospital. Her condition wasn’t available.
A fire and rescue crew determined there was a lethal amount of carbon monoxide inside the home.
Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton said from the early investigation, it appears the occupants were using propane heaters and space heaters run by a gas-powered generator to heat the home. He said the house had no power or running water.
Burton said the tragedy serves as a reminder of the dangers of carbon monoxide.
“It is never safe to run combustion engines inside of an enclosed space,” Burton said. “Make sure your home is always equipped with working carbon monoxide alarms to alert you to dangerous levels.”
“Keith Sherk was just 21 years old when he died from CO poisoning. It happened 20 years ago, but to his father, the pain is as fresh as if it happened yesterday.
‘It was all accidental,’ recalled Sherk. ‘It could have been prevented with just one carbon monoxide detector in his little room.’”
“Authorities say they believe carbon monoxide is to blame for the death of a man found on Norcross Lake in Minnesota. He was found unresponsive in his ice shack…recommend having good ventilation in your ice shack, as well as a carbon monoxide detector.”
“Two men were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning near Spicer Wednesday. At 1:20 p.m. fire and ambulance crews were called to a home on Indian Beach Road, where two men had passed out while doing concrete work in the basement of the home…”
WHITE EARTH, Minn. (Valley News Live) – One man has died after carbon monoxide poisoning built up in the ice house he was fishing in.
The White Earth Police Department responded to a welfare check on Norcross Lake, northeast of White Earth, on Saturday, January 20. Officers located an unresponsive man inside a fish house and EMS on scene determined he was deceased.
Investigators say 37-year-old Nathan Ray of Borup, Minnesota, died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
“Propane heaters use oxygen from the air for combustion, and release CO as a byproduct. Without proper ventilation, CO levels can build up inside your ice shelter without you knowing and can quickly cause illness or death,” first responders said.
White Earth Police remind everyone to take precautions when ice fishing. They say every ice shelter should have a carbon monoxide detector, be sure to test the detector regularly, and keep vents clear.
“RFD officials say after investigating, a carbon monoxide leak was confirmed, and hotel guests were evacuated…fire dept. worked with the Kahler’s maintenance staff to identify and stop the source of the carbon monoxide.”
No information released on the source nor if there is any installed CO detection onsite.
The Rochester Fire Department and then worked with the maintenance staff at the hotel to identify the source of the carbon monoxide. That source was not identified in the Rochester Fire Department news release.
“Clement is a Licensed Practical Nurse at Mayo Clinic and said when she first saw the child she wasn’t breathing, and her lips were blue.
‘I didn’t feel a pulse on her,’ Clement said. ‘So, I started CPR and she came back after less than a minute, but she still wouldn’t wake up.’
Clement said she thought the girl had been in the pool but found out later from police that the girl had been walking around and passed out.”
No information on source of CO or status of CO detection/alarm equipment. A reminder to carry a CO alarm when traveling and to keep it with you when spending time in any area of the hotel, including the pool area (due to a high number of CO incidents involving pool heaters).
Fire officials stress importance of quick response to carbon monoxide incident at Rochester hotel
“…authorities discovered the source of the carbon monoxide came from a gas-burning appliance near the pool area…Rochester Fire Captain Caleb Feine said every firefighter has a mobile carbon monoxide detector on their gear. ‘If this goes off and alerts us that carbon monoxide may be present, get our more specific, bigger monitors out and they will help verify the readings we are getting and we can determine if there’s a problem from there…’”
Great to see these clip-on monitors featured in this story. Hopefully one day these will be standard issue for all fire departments in the U.S.
“The man, 59, had gone out to a maintenance shed a few hours earlier to do some work. When church staff went to check on him, they found him dead…There was a gas tank on an engine that was out of gas.”
Update on the source of the CO that caused the deaths of 7 members of a Minnesota family in their home last month:
“The two possible sources of carbon monoxide in the home were a van in the garage and the unit’s furnace. Further blood tests did not show the presence of blood cyanide, which would have indicated the vehicle was the source.”
If you own a rental, please ensure your tenants understand the lifesaving importance of maintaining CO alarms, especially if permanently installed CO hazards are onsite.
“The victims — two parents, their three children, the father’s brother and the parents’ niece — were discovered in the house in Moorhead shortly before 8 p.m. Most were in their beds…
There are two known sources of carbon monoxide in the home, which was rented — a furnace in a room in the garage and a van in the garage…
There was a carbon monoxide detector in the home, but it was inside a laundry room cabinet with the battery removed…”
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