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Six treated for carbon monoxide poisoning
By Blake Spurney Editor
Six members of a family suffered carbon monoxide poisoning, including two whom were critically ill, Sunday night at a residence on Wolffork Road.
All six were hospitalized, including an infant who was born just three days earlier. The two who suffered severe poisoning were airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn., the closest place where a hyperbaric chamber could be activated on short notice, said Rabun County EMS Capt. Trampes Stancil.
County dispatchers were first notified that something was wrong shortly after 8 p.m. when Bersain Perez-Gonzalez, 22, dialed 911. He couldn't communicate the problem because of a language barrier, though dispatchers had the impression that someone was sick, Stancil said.
An ambulance and a Valley Fire Department truck were sent to the house at 670 Wolffork Road.
Assistant Fire Chief Tony Waite said paramedic Brandon Fields immediately diagnosed the problem upon walking into the residence. Waite got a carbon monoxide tester from the truck, and it showed a reading of 340 parts per million. According to Stancil, 9 ppm was considered acceptable.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning start appearing at 35 ppm.
Waite then ran to the truck for an air pack before entering the residence. The two in the worst shape, Domiga Flora Hernandez Osorio, 12, and Angela Osorio, 44, were unresponsive, and had to be carried out. Perez-Gonzalez and Thomas P. Hernandez Osorio, 9, walked outside on their own.
Waite said he then went back inside to check to see if everybody was out of the residence. He opened the door to a bedroom and pulled a pile of blankets off a bed. Underneath the covers were Marie Hernandez, 23, and her infant.
"They were kind of out of it," he said.
Waite grabbed the baby and handed it to a family member outside. He then got the mother out and searched the residence one more time.
"This all happened so fast, you know," he said.
By this time, other ambulances were summoned to the house, including one from Macon County, N.C. The two in the worst shape were flown from a landing zone set up on Highway 441.
Marie Hernandez and her infant were taken to Angel Medical Center in Franklin, N.C. The other two were taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Their current conditions were unavailable.
The culprit causing the carbon monoxide poisoning was a charcoal grill that was being used as a heat source inside. "It was just a regular barbecue grill like you get at Wal-Mart," Waite said.
He was unsure where the grill was located inside because it had been pulled outside by the time he and other rescue workers arrived, apparently by a neighbor. The neighbor had come to the residence after the initial call. Waite said Perez-Gonzalez passed out while he was on the phone with a dispatcher.
Some of the victims displayed the telltale signs of carbon monoxide poisoning: nausea and vomiting. Stancil said the two critical patients needed hyperbaric therapy, which exposed them to 100 percent oxygen at a high pressure. That is the most effective way of removing carbon monoxide from their hemoglobin and replacing it with oxygen. Hospitals in Greenville, S.C., and Atlanta also have such chambers.
It was unclear how long the family had been exposed to the exhaust from the charcoal grill.
"With the level they had (inside the house), it wouldn't take long at all to develop moderate CO poisoning," Stancil said.
One thing that is clear is how close the family was to tragedy. "If they would have gone to sleep, we'd have six body recoveries this morning, I can promise you that," Stancil said.
Waite didn't believe the residence had another heat source. "I didn't see any at all," he said.
With the onset of colder temperatures and the difficult economic conditions, some people may get desperate for a heat source.
"Times are hard, and they're doing what they can to stay warm," Waite said. "But that's not the way to do it, that's for sure."
Rabun County firefighter Marty Dixon reminded people to definitely avoid having an open flame in a residence and to not heat with charcoal. He also said people should be careful not to set kerosene and propane heaters too close to furniture. When using space heaters or generators, one must make sure it is property ventilated.
All six were hospitalized, including an infant who was born just three days earlier. The two who suffered severe poisoning were airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn., the closest place where a hyperbaric chamber could be activated on short notice, said Rabun County EMS Capt. Trampes Stancil.
County dispatchers were first notified that something was wrong shortly after 8 p.m. when Bersain Perez-Gonzalez, 22, dialed 911. He couldn't communicate the problem because of a language barrier, though dispatchers had the impression that someone was sick, Stancil said.
An ambulance and a Valley Fire Department truck were sent to the house at 670 Wolffork Road.
Assistant Fire Chief Tony Waite said paramedic Brandon Fields immediately diagnosed the problem upon walking into the residence. Waite got a carbon monoxide tester from the truck, and it showed a reading of 340 parts per million. According to Stancil, 9 ppm was considered acceptable.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning start appearing at 35 ppm.
Waite then ran to the truck for an air pack before entering the residence. The two in the worst shape, Domiga Flora Hernandez Osorio, 12, and Angela Osorio, 44, were unresponsive, and had to be carried out. Perez-Gonzalez and Thomas P. Hernandez Osorio, 9, walked outside on their own.
Waite said he then went back inside to check to see if everybody was out of the residence. He opened the door to a bedroom and pulled a pile of blankets off a bed. Underneath the covers were Marie Hernandez, 23, and her infant.
"They were kind of out of it," he said.
Waite grabbed the baby and handed it to a family member outside. He then got the mother out and searched the residence one more time.
"This all happened so fast, you know," he said.
By this time, other ambulances were summoned to the house, including one from Macon County, N.C. The two in the worst shape were flown from a landing zone set up on Highway 441.
Marie Hernandez and her infant were taken to Angel Medical Center in Franklin, N.C. The other two were taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Their current conditions were unavailable.
The culprit causing the carbon monoxide poisoning was a charcoal grill that was being used as a heat source inside. "It was just a regular barbecue grill like you get at Wal-Mart," Waite said.
He was unsure where the grill was located inside because it had been pulled outside by the time he and other rescue workers arrived, apparently by a neighbor. The neighbor had come to the residence after the initial call. Waite said Perez-Gonzalez passed out while he was on the phone with a dispatcher.
Some of the victims displayed the telltale signs of carbon monoxide poisoning: nausea and vomiting. Stancil said the two critical patients needed hyperbaric therapy, which exposed them to 100 percent oxygen at a high pressure. That is the most effective way of removing carbon monoxide from their hemoglobin and replacing it with oxygen. Hospitals in Greenville, S.C., and Atlanta also have such chambers.
It was unclear how long the family had been exposed to the exhaust from the charcoal grill.
"With the level they had (inside the house), it wouldn't take long at all to develop moderate CO poisoning," Stancil said.
One thing that is clear is how close the family was to tragedy. "If they would have gone to sleep, we'd have six body recoveries this morning, I can promise you that," Stancil said.
Waite didn't believe the residence had another heat source. "I didn't see any at all," he said.
With the onset of colder temperatures and the difficult economic conditions, some people may get desperate for a heat source.
"Times are hard, and they're doing what they can to stay warm," Waite said. "But that's not the way to do it, that's for sure."
Rabun County firefighter Marty Dixon reminded people to definitely avoid having an open flame in a residence and to not heat with charcoal. He also said people should be careful not to set kerosene and propane heaters too close to furniture. When using space heaters or generators, one must make sure it is property ventilated.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of theclaytontribune.com.
may wrote on Nov 25, 2008 8:13 PM:
" What does welfare have to do with this story? Just because they don't speak English doesn't mean they're on welfare. They probably didn't know the danger of carbon monoxide. I'm sure a mother would not intentionally allow her child to be harmed if she knew the danger. We don't know their financial situation but to say it's welfare and why our taxes should pay them or keep them up is not using our brains when it comes to helping out neighbors. "
confused wrote on Nov 26, 2008 12:17 AM:
" This is so sad. Thank God in heaven the Rabun 911 dispatchers know how to do their jobs even when a language barrier is involved. To think about this family with children plus a 3-day-old infant and its recovering mother not having heat is sad. It would be great if this family and other non-English speakers could learn the English language to protect themselves from situations like this. I am not understanding what welfare and older people drawing a check has anything to do with this, but Dawn maybe you have some ideas that could help people like this who are so desperate to keep warm they take dangerous measures to do it. "
Dawn wrote on Nov 24, 2008 5:33 PM: