A grim reminder about CO poisoning

[DTro]

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Authorities are investigating after a man died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning while in his fish house on Lake Elizabeth, near the city of Atwater.

The Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a friend of the man who said they found him unresponsive in his fish house. The man was transported to Rice Memorial Hospital, where he later died.

Initial investigation indicates the man’s cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Atwater Fire Department was summoned back to the scene, after received reports that the person who found the victim was also suffering from respiratory issues.

He was also transported to Rice Hospital.

The name of the deceased man is being withheld until family can be notified.

The incident is under investigation.

[Crm7290]

Thats a shame..... Doesn't everyone have a detector in their house or do they just wing it? For 30 bucks you can save your life.

I had a scare today about this. My girlfriend had just left here and got settled into her apartment and had to go back outside, luckily she has a car that she could stay warm in. Her apartment complex had a leak. They took it extremely serious, surprisingly because this company isn't the best. I told her to make sure her window is cracked open with the fan going to circulate the air.

[MN BassFisher]

Sad story! CO poisoning is easily forgot about when ice fishing too. Stay safe everyone.

[Will]

Did they determine if it was faulty equipment or lack of ventilation?

[GotALunker]

my prayers and blessings go out to the family. God Bless

[Random guy]

We take it very serious with the rentals. We test the CO detectors at every check in. Sadly it is a tragic deal that can happen very easily from faulty furnaces lanterns, heaters, gas lights, cook tops and an entire array of stuff we all like to use on the ice.

[basssmasher*]

with a portable its best to leave the door open a crack just to be safe. I could see this becoming a law for perm houses in the next few yrs, that it be mandatory to have them installed and working properly..Sad story, and like Jonny P. said, a grim reminder

[harvey lee]

Great post DTRO.

[cavalierowner]

I saw that on the news too. About 40 years ago I lost a great-uncle to CO poisoning in a HSOList.

And I think I came very close to dieing myslef quite a few years back. I was fishing real early in the a.m., had a propane heater and a white gas coleman lantern going. The coleman lantern started getting kind of dim, so I pumped it up; not much help. A bit later I was getting a little drowsy, so I opened the door to walk out side a bit. That lantern came up full bright the second I opened the door!! That same afternoon I ran a piece of 2" pipe from the outside wall into the back of the stove for combustion air and always propped the door open.

Be careful folks, this is serious stuff!

[peerchking]

the sheriffs department hauled the fishouse to a storage faciliy. I'm sure that thay will find out what caused this tragity (light-furnace)

[blackdog1101]

A friend in my church is a cousin of the man who died. He leaves behind a wife and two young boys. Very sad.

[Chaws]

That's unfortunate.

A note for those of your who have or are putting in a CO detector. Make sure you put it near the floor and not up on a cabinet. CO is heavier than air. If you own a permanent have both a smoke detector up high and a CO detector down low. I don't believe they're still available any longer but don't use a combination detector.

[muc33]

I have fear always and leave a window open all the time, I'd rather have the heat escape a little and have a better chance at life. Chad

[Maverick]

For your own piece of mind, do a search on CO heavier than air. There is lots of information out there about where to put a CO detector in a house. Of course, there are lots of variables present in a fish house not present in your home. CO essentially mixes with the air in the house and then travels, like air, up or down depending on the circulation in the house. In other words when the CO and air leave the appliance they rise because warm air rises, but in a fishhouse if the warm air hits a cold spot the air will drop. If you want to see a good example of this, blow a little cigar smoke above your heater and watch where it goes. It will rise until it finds a level or spot that is colder and then it drops. Most sites recommend putting the CO detector around head level, because that is where you are breathing in the air. No need to argue about the science, just go get one and put it in your fish house somewhere.

[pulleye16]

That's unfortunate.

A note for those of your who have or are putting in a CO detector. Make sure you put it near the floor and not up on a cabinet. CO is heavier than air. If you own a permanent have both a smoke detector up high and a CO detector down low. I don't believe they're still available any longer but don't use a combination detector.

This is very unfortunate and very sad for family and friends.

I'd just like to clear some things up though regarding CO. It actually is slightly lighter then air, around .96 specific gravity. Since it's so close to room air, it will mix easily. CO detectors should be placed at mid level (I would place them at either sleeping or sitting height) and away from the source.

Even though most say to change batteries out every six months, don't assume they are good if you replace them at the begining of the season. The extreme changing temps will affect them.

good post.

[MNice]

My condolences to the family... I hope they let us know details, so we can all learn. What type of heater/fishhouse/etc.

[DTro]

Has anyone ever tried the little stickers that change color? Seems like it would be a nice thing to have. They are reusable and last 90 days and can be purchased for less than $5

[mntim]

We actually were concerned about this last weekend. We had 4 guys in a portable with 2 sunflowers cranking in -25 temps. I guess fortunately the doors were opening and closing often and replenishing the fresh air. We did keep at least 2 vents open at all times, but the sunflowers were having a hard time keeping up with the cold so we shut them every now and then.

[pureinsanity]

Why not spend the 12 bucks for a 9V CO2 detector? They got ones you can plug in too? Life is too short as it is. I am assuming he was out there over night? Can't imagine you wouldn't notice your heater not working unless you were sleeping.

[walleye44]

Man that sucks to hear...

[mrklean]

very sad news i always keep my zipper cracked a little on the spear house just in case