Duluth, MN – An 11-year-old girl and 39-year-old man were found dead in a home just outside of Duluth Wednesday evening of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning, FOX 21 reports.
A family member found their bodies and called authorities just before 7 p.m., the Duluth News Tribune reports. On the scene, officials said they measured high levels of carbon monoxide in the trailer, and St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Todd Abernethy told the paper a generator was found running nearby.
Two others a boy, 14 years old, and a girl, 15 were taken to a Duluth hospital for treatment; their condition was not known early Thursday morning, Northland’s NewsCenter reports.
None of the victims have been identified, and officials are investigating.
About 170 people in the U.S. die each year from non-automotive carbon monoxide poisoning, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says. (Include all sources, and the number of fatalities jumps to about 400, according to the CDC.)
Minnesota law requires homes have at least one operational CO alarm within 10 feet of every room legally used for sleeping, the state health department says.
Carbon monoxide is often produced when burning fuels, including gasoline, coal, wood, charcoal, kerosene, natural gas, propane and heating oil, CenterPoint Energy says. Homes without proper ventilation have a greater risk of the gas building up, leading to illness or death.