Bellaire, OH – A Bellaire couple died over the weekend after exposure to a silent killer: carbon monoxide gas.
Melvin Carl Steele, 77, and his wife, Mary Lou Ferrick Steele, 76, both died Saturday at their home in the village. Belmont County Sheriff Dave Lucas confirmed that investigators from his office determined at the scene that the gas was the culprit, and that there was no evidence of foul play in the case.
Carbon monoxide is a gas that is a byproduct of combustion, including fumes given off by a generator or furnace. The gas is odorless and colorless, making it almost impossible to detect with just human senses. The chemical slowly displaces the oxygen in a given space if the area is not properly ventilated. Once it has been breathed in, the gas will bind to red blood cell molecules, restricting the body’s ability to circulate oxygen to vital systems and organs.
Bellaire Fire Chief Richard Smith said his department responds to call about carbon monoxide or CO detectors going off a couple of times each month, but the reports usually turn out to be a result of detector devices malfunctioning due to damage or dying batteries. He said situations where there is actual CO gas present are much less common.
Actual cases are very rare, Smith said.
According to information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year, more than 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning not linked to fires, more than 20,000 visit the emergency room, and more than 4,000 are hospitalized.
Smith said low levels of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream can cause weakness, dizziness and nausea. If someone is exposed to higher levels over a longer period of time, they will experience increasing weakness, followed by unconsciousness. If someone is sleeping when the room fills with the gas, they simply never wake up.
As the winter season approaches and minds turn to keeping warm, Smith said area residents should take precautions to avoid any dangerous buildups of the gas in their homes. Carbon monoxide detectors can be purchased at most hardware stores and can detect traces of carbon monoxide present in the air far more easily than a person can. These devices come in a variety of different designs, but most of them emit some sort of tone or sound similar to a fire alarm to warn occupants of a building to get out quickly.
Smith said one of the easiest ways to prevent CO poisoning is to make sure the vents in your home are free of debris, allowing air to freely circulate and disperse the gas before it can build up. He also stressed the importance of maintaining carbon monoxide detectors, recommending changing the batteries every six months along with those in home smoke detectors.
Install your CO alarms, and if you have any suspicion about anything because you can’t see, smell or taste it call 911 and your local department will get out there, Smith said.
He added that if you believe a neighbor or someone else is in a building where there is a buildup of carbon monoxide, call the fire department and stay outside running in to try and help could just result in first responders having to get many more victims out of the building.
For more information on carbon monoxide poisoning and how to prevent it, visit www.cdc.gov/co/faqs.htm.