Tracking the Carbon Monoxide Killer

Tracking the Carbon Monoxide Killer Must be Treated Like a Crime

Tracking the carbon monoxide killer must be treated like a homicide investigation, regardless of whether anyone has died because the disability in survivors can be a life robber.

By Rebecca Martin

Tracking carbon monoxide is much like a true crime story. While the killer is invisible, the presence of carbon monoxide leaves clues which could be discerned by the multiple agencies involved in its detection. And just like a true crime story, it often takes public  agencies, attorneys and survivors, working together, to collect information, witnesses and background histories to determine if carbon monoxide is the culprit.

Tracking the carbon monoxide killer will be exponentially harder if there is no device at the scene to measure the CO in ambient air.

The first notice of a what make later be identified as a carbon monoxide poisoning incident is usually with a 911 operator.  There are several ways these calls can come in. They might come in as a report of an unresponsive or deceased person discovered on the scene. Alarming CO detectors may elicit a response. Calls from concerned residents may come in with complaints of CO poisoning symptoms. And calls for welfare checks from family members may come in to check on people who are not responding to phone calls or answering their doors, particularly during weather related events which increase the possibility of carbon monoxide exposure.

The problem of course is as CO symptoms are so easily confused with other disease processes, if there is no alarm present, there may be no recognition that carbon monoxide is loose. Alarms and personal protective devices on responders must be mandatory, everywhere.

911 Process Must Begin Tracking the Carbon Monoxide Killer

911 operators and dispatchers are not always the same thing. The 911 operator takes calls and then prioritizes which require immediate action. 911 operators also are trained to keep callers calm and reassured that help will be on the way. Dispatchers relay this information to emergency response teams following set guidelines as to which teams are dispatched. Qualifications for 911 operators and dispatchers are usually handled by individual states and requires testing which has been described as extremely difficult. Testing includes simulations which test all the skills one might expect to be needed to deal with high stress situations.

The guidelines for most of these events are the same. However, it is up to the dispatcher to determine if a report of an unresponsive or deceased person on the scene may have been exposed to carbon monoxide to dispatch the appropriate services. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued guidelines for dispatchers. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/coguide.pdf These are not mandatory and are intended to be used as a guide for emergency response teams who generally develop their own guidelines based on the basic premises in the CPSC guide.

The reason that these guidelines are essential is that by initially determining that there is any risk of carbon monoxide on the scene, dispatchers can send EMS services equipped with trained personnel and a professional CO meter to rule out exposure to the members of the response team. But just like a true crime story, leaving out information about a potential shooter still being on the scene, leaving out information that there could be carbon monoxide in lethal amounts on the scene could turn deadly. There are countless instances where that information has not been relayed, resulting in injury to first responders who may have expected to find a heart attack victim, and unfortunately faced lethal concentrations of carbon monoxide before realizing the killer was still in the house.

If a call for a welfare check is made for a private home, it is imperative that police or the appropriate response team are there to gain emergency entrance. We have discussed a case in which first responders were dispatched and unable to gain entrance or elicit a response from residents and left the scene. After several hours a second plea for a welfare check came in, and this time appropriate measures were taken and the situation in the home resulted in tragedy. Because this event occurred during severe weather, the response should also have considered the increased risks that were present.

Evacuation to Escape the Carbon Monoxide Killer

Whenever there is a report of a potential carbon monoxide incident, everyone in the risk area should be evacuated at the onset and not allowed to be returned. Fire and emergency medical services are then needed on the scene and in some areas, poison control or hazmat professionals are also dispatched. It is a shame that all emergency responders are not equipped with person carbon monoxide devices because medical personnel or fire fighters arriving on the scene may face exposure before readings are taken. The killer is in the house and the house has not been cleared before they enter. A personal CO device would be the body armor in this true crime story.

How firefighters respond does depend on whether a CO detector is alarming or if there are residents exhibiting typical symptoms of CO poisoning.  In these instances where there is a distinct possibility that carbon monoxide is the culprit, they can then monitor the area with carbon monoxide monitors using self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs) for their own safety. If carbon monoxide is not obviously present, they will do a walkthrough with monitors to test around likely sources and check that CO detectors (if present) are operating and not merely sounding due to a dead battery or end of life signal.

Once it is determined that carbon monoxide is present, first responders may make a preliminary assessment of the potential source of the CO poisoning.  This can be accomplished by speaking to witnesses and doing a preliminary inspection of fuel burning devises at the scene. If carbon monoxide is detected, the gas company will be called to shut off gas and the utility company contacted.

The Carbon Monoxide Killer’s Clues are Transient

Often levels recorded at the scene are lower than before fire fighters entered the scene due to several things: Emergency medical personnel may have opened doors and even windows. Fuel-burning devices may have been shut off. Just because a reading has dropped to below what is believed to be a lethal level, does not mean a lethal level didn’t exist. Nor is it an indicator of what severity of injury might be expected to be present as persistent low doses can cause serious injury as well.  Age and health of victims can also play a part in the extent of injury.

Later, inspectors may be called in to examine things like furnaces and venting and determine if the fuel-burning devices in the structure were being used properly and if they were maintained properly. They will determine code and safety compliance, especially in buildings like apartments, and buildings open to the public, like hotels. churches, schools and theatres.

How to Know it Could be CO?

There are several signs that carbon monoxide may have been present in a residence prior to the incident being called in to 911.

• You see black, sooty marks on the front covers of gas fires.
• There is heavy condensation built up at the windowpane where the appliance is installed.
• Sooty or yellow/brown stains on or around boilers, stoves, or fires.
• Smoke building up in rooms.
• Yellow flames coming out from gas appliances except at natural gas fireplaces.
• The pilot lights blow out frequently.
• Solid fuel fires burn a lot slower than usual.
• People in your home have these symptoms:
  • Breathlessness
  • Chest pains
  • Fits
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Confusion
• Symptoms disappear once you are away from your home.
• You get seasonal symptoms, such as headaches during the winter when central heating is used more frequently.
• Pets become ill or agitated, trying to warn their owners of danger.
• Symptoms appear or seem to get worse when using fuel-burning equipment.

https://www.medicinenet.com/12_signs_there_is_carbon_monoxide_in_your_house/article.htm

Questioning the witnesses and examining the scene can reveal if there were indicators that carbon monoxide was present and what might have prevented the scene from ultimately becoming toxic enough to have warranted an emergency response. And what actions might have been taken to address and prevent emergency intervention. Previous inspections can provide information on whether existing problems were known and what was done to correct them.

Only after all things have been carefully examined and considered should residents be allowed to return to the area. A simple “airing out” is not enough to transform a toxic environment to a safe environment and there have been many times when residents have been returned to what has continued to be an unsafe environment and, in some cases, deaths have ensued due to lax protocols when determining the source of the carbon monoxide.

Gas Leaks must be Treated as Crime Scenes

All these steps directly related to an investigation of the scene, from the initial emergency 911 call, to the follow up inspection of the scene, provide pieces of what should be treated as a crime scene investigation. And only by following strict protocols and treating the scene the same as we would any crime, can we really recreate the scenario in which a silent killer was able to function and gain a better understanding of the prevalence of carbon monoxide.

We still miss many instances when carbon monoxide should have been the top of the suspect list but was dismissed. Examples would be the incidence of drownings at Lake Powell, which for years had been attributed to other causes until an investigation discovered that almost half of the drownings were the result of carbon monoxide exposure.  It should now be routine to check drowning victims for carbon monoxide exposure and many legislative changes have occurred to correct a flawed boat design. Public education and posted warnings have made lake users across the nation aware that a silent killer may be lurking.

We still have much to do in cases of the elderly and the health compromised whose deaths may be written off to other causes without a deeper dive into the environmental presence of carbon monoxide. And it is terribly tragic when multiple incidents are reported at the same location and residents are returned without any definitive action being taken to guarantee that the presence and source of carbon monoxide has been identified and corrected.

Alerting the public to the symptoms of carbon monoxide and requiring CO alarms is part of the solution. Requiring personal CO detectors for emergency response workers would also identify the presence of carbon monoxide on the scene, even when the scene presents as a heart attack or natural death, thus correctly identifying the presence of carbon monoxide and preventing more injuries and deaths.