After carbon monoxide death, chief urges detectors in homes

MANSFIELD -- A Jan. 11 buildup of carbon monoxide that killed a Mansfield woman in an apartment house could have become a major tragedy.

Mansfield Fire Chief Jim Welch said residents of three other apartments could have been overcome and perished if one resident hadn't awakened.Mary J. Pond, 52, died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Jan. 11 in the 41 E. Wellsboro St. apartment she shared with Donald Hall. Hall woke up and found Pond unconscious in an apartment bathroom early that morning. Police and firefighters awakened and evacuated residents of the building, several of whom showed effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.

"If those CO levels had continued to build and (Hall) hadn't awakened, the other residents could easily have succumbed," Welch said. "That was the first really cold night where the boiler would have been running almost continuously. Conditions were perfect.

"Carbon monoxide levels in the basement, near the boiler, reached 700 parts per million. In Pond's apartment, the level measured 450 parts per million -- after a firefighter had opened a window. Toxicity begins at 50 to 80 parts per million [toxicity actually begins as soon as it hits your bloodstream, at 50-80ppm you're seeing some serious effects, at 700ppm it would be a matter of minutes before you would pass out] .Even at those low levels, exposure can be fatal over a relatively long period of time."

Carbon monoxide accumulates in the bloodstream [it attaches to and blocks your cells from carrying oxygen]," Welch said. "It produces flu-like symptoms. People think they have the flu, because it's that time of year. Instead of getting out of the house to go to work in fresh air for eight to 12 hours, they stay at home, and it gets worse.'

"Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless -- but easily detectable. Welch said the solution to a potentially fatal problem is easy."

Anyone who has a gas-fired electrical appliance that requires venting should have a carbon monoxide detector," he said. "It's that easy."They cost $25 to as much as $800 [Pocket CO from www.transducertech.com is $129], depending on the model, brand and features. And they [the cheap ones-see below] are available in just about any hardware or department store. The detector sounds an alarm when the carbon monoxide in room air reaches a predetermined level [usually too high (25-30ppm) for standard home detectors]-- before it becomes toxic. [at those levels it already is...and if you've been exposed to say 24ppm over a longer period of time (overnight for example) the alarm won't go off, but you're still going to see serious effects, headache, nausea, unconsciousness...a more sensitive detector is needed, i.e. the Pocket CO.]

"Carbon monoxide poisoning isn't that uncommon, unfortunately," Welch said. "It can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. The answer is to get a detector, and to have your furnace inspected regularly. That just makes sense from an energy efficiency standpoint, too."