CO deaths in Portsmouth, VA.(Norfolk area)

Jim Davis_3

<a href="http://www.wvec.com/my-city/portsmouth/2-found-dead-in-apartment-during-gas-leak-investigation">www.wvec.com/my-city/portsmouth/2-found-dead-in-apartment-during-gas-leak-investigation</a>

Couple dead from suspected CO poisoning.  They had prolonged health problems and were diagnosed with all kinds of diseases except CO poisoning.  Had CO Alarm in apartment and it didn't go off.  42 other apartments out of 210, were found to have CO in them.  Fire department said their CO Alarms didn't go off because it wasn't enough to set them off.  Waters heaters and ovens were blamed, obviously in June it wasn't furnaces, but they are not sure so they are just replacing, but just the ones they think are bad.   

I love when I talk to contractors from that area and they tell me they don't need to test for CO because they have mostly heat pumps and very little gas.  I think I need to add public housing to the top of my most dangerous buildings lists.  It is funny you talk to the maintenance people at these places and they say the people are lazy and always have some excuse about being sick. 

To date I haven't been in any public housing sites that were safe.

 

Bob Harper

summer CO

I think someone qualified needs to inspect all the venting then conduct combustion analysis with depressurization testing to see if it was a combination of hot weather when there is no appreciable natural draft at standby coupled with leaky return ducts depressurizign the CAZs or some similar mechanism to entrain CO. Of course, they would have to rule out exogenous sources of CO such as idling cars, BBQs, pool heaters, and groundskeeping gasoline powered engines.



Jim have you tried contacting the Fire Marshal's office? You ought to. UL listed alarms don't even make decent paperweights.

icesailor

Tight Houses & CO

Of COURSE it wouldn't have anything to do with tight houses and a lack of air changes.

And from what I have read, the AHJ's don't want CO detectors that are too sensitive because they have to go on false alarms all the time. So, raise the limit to save money on "false" calls.

Besides, that would be another "Government" regulation to be avoided at all costs. The "Private Sector" or manufacturers would NEVER do anything that would put the consumer in any danger. Until they get the laws they lobby for that exempts them for any liability for defective equipment.