Nottingham, NH – An EMT with the Nottingham Fire Department was killed last week when she was overcome by carbon monoxide from a generator used during the widespread power outages.
Officials said Diane Nugent, 51, died when she went to refuel a generator in a detached garage at 11 Mooers Road in Nottingham. Her mother, Florence Veber, found her Thanksgiving morning.
“She left from the house here around 8 a.m., and I went down around 10-15 minutes later because the light didn’t come on,” Veber said.
More than 300,000 outages were reported across New Hampshire in the aftermath of a storm that hit Wednesday. For many, the outages lasted several days, and many turned to generators to provide power.
Veber said Nugent, a volunteer EMT, turned the generator off shortly after midnight when she returned from a fire. When her mother found her, the funnel was still in the gas tank, and the generator was still off.
“I went in, I bent down, and I tried to talk to her,” Veber said. “I kissed her, and I felt her arm, and that’s when she took it and had three little grunting sounds, and then that was it. Nothing more.”
Autopsy results confirmed carbon monoxide poisoning as the cause of death. Nugent lost her husband three years ago to cancer, and they had no children.
Her 11-year-old Siberian husky was her pride and joy.
“She was just the most kind, gentle person you could get,” Veber said. “Very active. Always wanting to help somebody.”
Veber said her daughter was two tests away from becoming an advanced EMT and worked a full-time job at Long Term Care Partners in Portsmouth.
Funeral services for Nugent have been scheduled for Saturday at Purdy Memorial Chapel at 2 Concord Road in Lee. Visitation begins at 9 a.m., and a walkthrough for fire and EMS personnel will be held at 9:30 a.m. A memorial service begins at 10 a.m.