Eureka Motel Double Fatal Carbon Monoxide Tragedy

Times Two – Eureka Motel Double Fatal Carbon Monoxide Strikes Lamplighter Inn

The Lamplighter Inn, was the scene of the Eureka Motel Double Fatal Carbon Monoxide Tragedy of not one, but two separate fatal CO events, separated by five days.

By Attorney Gordon Johnson

Double, double fatal carbon monoxide event strikes Lamplighter Inn in Eureka, California.  Five days apart, in two separate incidents, rescuers find one dead, and one severely poisoned carbon monoxide victims, in the same exact motel room. How could this happen? I say double, double, because two people were poisoned in each incident, one dead, one severely poisoned in each incident. Double, double because it is the twin of infamous double, double in Boone, NC.

How could it happen again?

See the Guardian California motel closes after two women found dead in same room days apart as well as the City of Eureka’s citation for this motel. Clearly, the Lamplighter Inn will have responsibility for the first deaths and poisoning, but the EMT’s who rescued the first victims of the two poisonings must bear responsibility for not wearing personal protective CO monitors on themselves The second fatality was completely avoidable if first responders had been wearing them. T

his story should never have happened again after what happened at the Boone NC Best Western in 2013. That is still happening in 2026 is outrageous. All emergency responders must be held to a higher standard.

The Eureka Motel Double Fatal Carbon Monoxide was preceded by the Boone NC Best Western, double, double carbon monoxide poisoning, which gave rise to  the Jenkins Foundation. 

As someone who has been advocating for carbon monoxide prevention since before Boone, this upsets me so much it is hard to put it into words. What is Boone you ask? Search it on this web page and you will find 10,000 words we have written about it. An entire charitable advocacy group for carbon monoxide poisoning was started because of Boone. See https://thejenkinsfoundation.com I don’t need to tell Kris Hauschildt’s story. She tells it well enough herself there.

Unfortunately, the most important lesson that should have been learned from Boone is that all EMT’s, fireman, first responders, hotel personnel, should be wearing person protective devices. If the first responders in Lamplighter Inn I poisoning had been wearing them, there would not have been a Lamplighter Inn II. That means one more victim of the hotel’s mistakes would now be alive, that another person wouldn’t be dealing the disability of  a near fatal CO poisoning.

This has to stop. EMT’s must protect themselves and protect those they are rescuing. See my blog for the National Carbon Monoxide Awareness Association at https://www.ncoaa.us/post/the-urgent-need-for-personal-co-alarms-for-emergency-responders#:~:text=The%20National%20Carbon%20Monoxide%20Awareness%20Association%20(NCOAA),**Provide%20early%20warning**%20*%20**Prevent%20tragic%20outcomes**

From my own book: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, the Lethality of a Missing Carbon Monoxide Atom:

I asked Kris Hauschildt of the Jenkins Foundation how she felt about personal protective devices.  As discussed above, her parents were the first victims of the Boone Best Western pool heater. Here is what she had to say:

Here is a list of all the professions that, had they been wearing a personal monitor, could have identified the presence of CO in the building before my parents even checked in, which not only could have prevented their deaths but also could have prevented their own exposure to injurious/life-threatening levels of CO:

• Hotel staff:
• Maintenance staff,
• Housekeepers,
• Front desk staff, managers, owners;
• Hotel brand inspectors (routine);
• Health Dept inspectors (routine);
• Fire Dept inspectors (routine);
• Elevator service/repair workers;
• City/County code officials;
• Private HVAC and plumbing contractors:
• Gas utility workers

• In terms of Jeffrey Williams’ death ( the little boy who died in the same room, weeks later), add to the list:

• Police officers,
• Police detectives,
• EMTs fire personnel (including fire chief).”

In another case, the patient, even though evacuated at near death COHb levels, was misdiagnosed with a stroke. What he actually had was a heart attack and a horrid amount of brain damage. Even after receiving the COHb blood test of 30.2% taken after 74 minutes on oxygen, the ER doctor was so confused that he attributed the high level to the clients smoking history. The patient never got the treatment he should have. His significant other was left behind by the ambulance crew and not treated until four days later when she was also diagnosed with a stroke.

Clearly, I have not written enough on this topic to prevent the double, double fatal carbon monoxide events from happening again. I guess it is time to do what I do best: sue someone.