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Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Unless you're a car nut, you won't understand. For some it is actually a way of life and takes up virtually every waking hour. I'm a car nut but not in that category. Agree it's a waste though, but not really any different from coming a cropper for the sake of a nice walk in the hills, paddling in the oceans, climbing a mountain, breaking your neck kicking a ball about a field, and all other human activity which, on the face of it, appears wholly unnecessary to other people.

Exactly this. From what I can see this couple weren't doing anything spectacularly out of the ordinary (for people with their interests), but died as a consequence of a sequence of unfortunate events - and we criticise those who suffer such a process at our peril.

Our lives are full of risk - both intrinsic and adopted (and the perceived 'poshness' or otherwise of the background is irrelevant to the reaper); in retrospect, risk always looks manageable when successfully negotiated - but otherwise, bloody ridiculous.
 
Exactly this. From what I can see this couple weren't doing anything spectacularly out of the ordinary (for people with their interests), but died as a consequence of a sequence of unfortunate events - and we criticise those who suffer such a process at our peril.

Our lives are full of risk - both intrinsic and adopted (and the perceived 'poshness' or otherwise of the background is irrelevant to the reaper); in retrospect, risk always looks manageable when successfully negotiated - but otherwise, bloody ridiculous.
Yes - very elequently put.
 
Man dies from indoor barbecue. CO poisoning. Quite a tragic case as his wife and child are also injured, but not dead.

Who does that? Madness.

It happens more than you'd think. People use them indoors or in a tent, or bring them in after use thinking they're extinguished when they're still giving off CO2.

Here's advice from the Public Health Agency of Northern Ireland -

Carbon monoxide poisoning from barbecues

“It is important to remind people camping during a major event that despite being out in the fresh air, carbon monoxide can build up very quickly in enclosed spaces, such as tents and awnings, to levels that can kill. And if cold weather is forecast, campers may be tempted to take barbecues inside.

“Barbecues should never be used or left inside tents or awnings once they have been lit or after they have been used – they should be disposed of safely ensuring all fire and ashes are completely extinguished.

Another page from a few years ago lists all the British CO2/tent deaths from 2012, along with other CO2-related fatalities in tents from other sources. All avoidable. Very sad reading indeed.
 
Here's real good-news story -
(Safe link to reputable Lincolnshire Live website)

Family's lives saved after gas engineer's shock discovery that house was flooded with carbon monoxide

A householder reported their CO alarm going off. The gas engineer Mo Dawood checked their home then went next door.
He knocked but nobody answered because they were all being gassed.
Mr Dawood poked his gas detection reader through the letterbox and found the reading dangerously high.

He said: “No-one was answering so I gave the door a real bang and a lady (Ms Savory) eventually came to the door.

“I could see straight away she had big red circles around her eyes, so I ordered her and everyone in the house to get out as quickly as possible.

“The dad (Mr Tonks) came to the door but didn’t look right. He said he’d been in bed because he had been out on a rugby do the night before and had had a few beers. He started wobbling and collapsed.”

The family were rushed to Coventry’s University Hospital, where they were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.

This happened a couple of years ago but is back in the news because it's nearly Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week.
 
Goodness, they were lucky.

I had a wood burner and some years ago it was smelly.

I had a headache and felt woozy.

I wanted to go back to bed, but remembered I was expected for dinner and so hauled myself out.

I felt better five minutes into my walk.

Its a good thing I didnt go back to bed....
 
This is a timely reminder for me to check my CO alarm. Yes, in my new cottage i have proper alarms for everything!

Mind you, the smoke alarm goes off if I boil water, but you can't have everything.
 
When my Mum and Dad got married, they had their honeymoon in an old hotel.
They both woke up feeling ill and my Dad had the presence of mind to check the gas fire in the bedroom. He decided that it was pumping out carbon monoxide and he marched off to demand another room. So they stayed in another room that night.

So I might not have been born if my parents had croaked there and then!

My Dad was always zealous about using carbon monoxide alarms and instilled that into me.
 
Camping too can be proper dodgy, especially if you're as dumb as a rock.
I remember reading reports of people camping who had had a BBQ and then didn't want to leave the (not yet finished burning) BBQ outside, so brought it into the tent overnight, and that done for them.
 
Camping too can be proper dodgy, especially if you're as dumb as a rock.
I remember reading reports of people camping who had had a BBQ and then didn't want to leave the (not yet finished burning) BBQ outside, so brought it into the tent overnight, and that done for them.
Yeah, my Dad always made a point of leaving it some distance away from the tent.
One time, we saw some young lads get terribly burnt when they tried to use the stove inside the tent - the tent filled with gas and then went up in flames. We turned up just as they were being loaded into an ambulance. :(
 
Camping too can be proper dodgy, especially if you're as dumb as a rock.
I remember reading reports of people camping who had had a BBQ and then didn't want to leave the (not yet finished burning) BBQ outside, so brought it into the tent overnight, and that done for them.
It happened in a canal boat a few years ago.
 
Camping too can be proper dodgy, especially if you're as dumb as a rock.
I remember reading reports of people camping who had had a BBQ and then didn't want to leave the (not yet finished burning) BBQ outside, so brought it into the tent overnight, and that done for them.
Here's an example:
(Safe BBC link)
My partner 'was killed by a barbecue'

When Roland Wessling looked over to his partner Hazel Woodhams he knew instantly that she was dead. What he didn't yet know was that her killer was still in their tent, and that his life was also in danger.

Carbon monoxide, a colourless, odourless gas, had leaked from their extinguished barbecue. Hazel and Roland had been poisoned as they slept.

Woodhams knew about the dangers of carbon monoxide but hadn't foreseen that the barbecue would still be giving it off when it was cold -

(She) had seen the deadly effects of carbon monoxide in her job as a scenes-of-crime officer, and the couple had a carbon monoxide alarm in their home, but they had not thought to bring it with them on their trip.

"We were doing all the cooking, nice and safe, outside the tent," Roland explained. But several hours later they decided to bring the barbecue inside the tent to protect it from rain and passers-by.

"The barbecue was cold to the touch. There was no smoke coming off it, no glowing, it seemed to be completely inactive."
 
Fifteen people were hospitalized in Ohio this past weekend after being overcome by carbon monoxide in a hotel's pool area.
Multiple hospitalized after carbon monoxide poisoning at Marysville hotel

Multiple people including children were taken to a hospital after being found unconscious around the pool area of a Marysville hotel Saturday afternoon.

The Marysville Police Department responded to the Hampton Inn just after 5:45 p.m. on a report of an unconscious two-year-old found in the water.

As officers started to respond to the incident, 911 dispatchers began receiving additional calls of unconscious people in and around the pool area.

Marysville Police Chief Tony Brooks said the Marysville Fire Department and a hazmat team from Worthington determined the cause to be dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide. ...

Marysville police say two people were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in stable condition, six people were taken to Memorial Hospital in critical condition, and one person was taken to Grady Memorial in critical condition. Police say two people were evaluated at the scene and four people walked in at Memorial to be treated. ...

At least six of the patients transported from the scene to Grady Memorial were children, according to the hospital. ...
FULL STORY: https://abc6onyourside.com/news/loc...round-pool-area-of-marysville-hotel-1-29-2022
 
Here's a follow-up story updating the Ohio hotel situation and recounting one family's experience.
It was a terrifying experience for one Pickaway County family Saturday night.

"We could've died, both of our kids could have died that day," said Tiffany Young.

Tiffany and her sister Misty spoke to ABC 6 on the phone from the hospital Sunday night, detailing the moments when their family experienced carbon monoxide poisoning at the Marysville Hampton Inn.

The sisters were among 15 that were hospitalized, including Tiffany's 2-year-old daughter, who was the first to become unconscious while playing in the hotel's indoor pool.

"Our first reaction was that she was dry drowning and we immediately started CPR on her because she was not responsive at all," Tiffany said.

They called 911, then Misty's two sons became unresponsive as well.

"And then next thing we know, I mean it happened so fast, it was like one after another kept dropping and my 11-year-old son had passed out and hit the floor," Misty said.

They ran for help and medics arrived to take their kids to the hospital before the sisters even realized they were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning as well. ...

"And the last thing I remember is crawling out of the elevator and I don't remember anything after that until I woke up in the hospital," Misty said.

Both sisters said they went through three rounds of treatment in a hyberbaeric oxygen chamber before they were released Sunday night. ...

The Marysville Fire chief said investigators are still working with building maintenance to determine what caused the carbon monoxide leak. No deaths have been reported. ...
FULL STORY: https://abc6onyourside.com/news/loc...carbon-monoxide-poisoning-at-marysville-hotel
 
I do believe we have discussions of carbon monoxide poisoning elsewhere, possibly under Strange Deaths, where people have been found ill or dead in tents and on narrowboats.
 
Three American visitors to Mexico City died from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning at an Airbnb apartment.
Three US tourists found dead in Mexico City Airbnb from carbon monoxide

Three American tourists were found dead last week in a Mexico City Airbnb apartment they were renting after apparent carbon monoxide poisoning, Mexican authorities confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday.

Friends Kandace Florence, Jordan Marshall and Courtez Hall were visiting the Mexican capital to celebrate the Day of the Dead holiday ... ...

The Mexico City attorney general’s office, which opened an investigation into the deaths, said the victims’ bodies were found on 30 October and that studies indicated they died of carbon monoxide poisoning. ...

Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in a comment to Bloomberg said the deaths were a “terrible tragedy” and that the company was ready to assist with inquiries from authorities.

The tragedy comes as an influx of Americans and other foreigners visit and move to Mexico. Last month, Mexico City’s government signed an agreement with the short-term rental site in what Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum described as an effort to boost the number of “digital nomads” coming to Mexico City. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/10/american-tourists-dead-mexico-city
 
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