Invisible & Deadly Hazard

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Somerset residents Bethany and Brandon Hughes, shown here at their home with their dog Snickers, have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. Bethany fell seriously ill on Thanksgiving after significant amounts of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and poisonous gas, had leaked into her home. Photo by Heather Tomlinson

December 24, 2011

Carbon monoxide from leaking flue poisons woman

by Heather Tomlinson Commonwealth Journal The Commonwealth Journal Sat Dec 24, 2011, 07:18 AM EST

Somerset — Brandon and Bethany Hughes both believe they have much to be thankful for this holiday season.

The young couple, both Pulaski County natives, are looking at Christmas with a new mindset — one brought about by a terrifying encounter with a wintertime danger that many people don’t even think about.

The couple, who reside on Cromer Drive in Somerset, began Thanksgiving morning normally. Brandon, an assistant manager at Walgreens, was already up by 7 a.m. and preparing for work. Bethany, a nursing student at Somerset Community College who works part-time at Kroger, rose early too to prepare for the family gatherings that the day would bring.

But something was wrong.

Bethany and Brandon caught the smell of gasoline, and although it worried them, they didn’t think much of it except to open the windows in their home in hopes it would dissipate the odor. They thought that perhaps the smell was coming from a neighbor’s home. Bethany and Brandon’s home runs on gas heat, just as the homes around them do.

But Bethany, who had woken with a headache and felt sluggish, knew something worse was going on when she took the couple’s Pekingese, Snickers, for a short walk.

“As soon as we got outside and in the air, I felt so much better,” Bethany said.

Bethany decided to re-enter their home, knowing that her husband was still getting ready for work. Her headache worsened, however, as soon as she walked back into the residence, and she struggled to open the living room windows.

“We came back in and it (the smell) just smacked me in the face,” Bethany said.

Bethany was hit with a wave of dizziness so strong that it was all she could do to stay upright as she moved from the living room and back toward their bedroom to alert Brandon that something was seriously wrong.

By the time Bethany reached the bedroom, her condition had worsened.

“All of a sudden, I couldn’t hear or see, and I couldn’t feel my legs,” Bethany said. “I knew I was about to go down because I’ve never felt that way before.”

Bethany barely had time to call for her husband before she collapsed.

“It was terrifying,” Brandon said, about seeing his wife unconscious on the floor.

Once Brandon saw that his wife was breathing, he drug her outside of the home as quickly as he could, remembering that Bethany had complained about the gas smell and said that she’d felt strange.

It took several minutes for Bethany to regain consciousness, and Brandon couldn’t tear himself away from her side as he waited. Once she came to, the couple called her parents, who rushed over immediately.

Bethany’s father called 911 and told them of a gas leak in the home, and they would soon find out that carbon monoxide, or CO, was leaking into the home.

The carbon monoxide, an odorless, invisible gas, was what had caused Bethany’s symptoms. They found out not long after the incident that Bethany’s symptoms were evidence of very high levels of carbon monoxide in the home — high enough to cause death if she’d remained inside for only a few more minutes. Although Brandon hadn’t exhibited symptoms as quickly as his wife, they were told that he’d been in the same boat as her if he’d remained inside much longer.

Bethany, who decided not to go to the hospital because her medical studies had taught her that the only way to treat carbon monoxide poisoning is to get fresh oxygen, went to her parent’s home and recovered on Thanksgiving day, although she dealt with an excruciating headache and serious nausea and vomiting the rest of the day.

“It felt like someone was beating my head with a hammer,” she said.

Barry Branscum, with the City of Somerset Gas Department, arrived at the couple’s home that day to inspect the situation — and what he found was incredibly high levels of the poisonous gas.

He said he recorded an approximate reading of 250 parts per million upon his arrival — and that was several hours after the windows had been opened and oxygen had begun to circulate back through the residence.

That means Bethany and Brandon may have breathed in a much higher concentration of CO, which can prove deadly only after a short time.

Snickers, their dog, exhibited some symptoms of CO exposure, but he recovered quickly.

A CO reading of 250 parts per million is considered a medium exposure, which can lead to death after three hours.

“That stuff will get to you pretty quick,” said Branscum, who noted that he’s seen local incidents in which residents have passed away due to CO exposure during his more than 20 years with the gas department.

For healthy adults, CO becomes toxic when it reaches a level higher than 35 parts per million with continuous exposure over an eight-hour period. Branscum said a level as low as 9 parts per million can cause symptoms.

Carbon monoxide causes damage to the body by blocking red blood cells from picking up oxygen. The lack of oxygen in the body can lead to symptoms like headache, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In the worst cases, when the amount of CO in a building is at fatal levels, it can cause loss of consciousness.

An inspection by Branscum revealed that the furnace — located just below the Hughes’ bedroom — was directly pumping the fumes straight into the home because the vent pipe had rusted completely through.

The couple were forced to stay out of their home for several days while the carbon monoxide and gas levels were lowered and until the broken pipe was repaired.

Their first order of business upon their return to the home was to install a carbon monoxide detector — something they’d ever even thought to have, since the two had never lived in a home with gas heat.

Bethany and Brandon also insisted on having a double-wall pipe, which can give more protection in cases in which a leak may occur installed as opposed to the single-wall pipe that had been initially put in. That put the vent pipe back in line with building requirements.

Branscum said every homeowner should have the pipes and furnace inspected to ensure everything is operating properly and to ensure that everything meets building codes. Chimneys should also be closely watched.

“People just take that stuff for granted,” Branscum said. “Really, they have to have it inspected.”

Branscum also said routine vent pipe and chimney cleanings are also necessary to make sure everything operates correctly.

The couple have had some trouble feeling comfortable in their own home since the incident, but they feel like their health has actually improved since the pipe was repaired — leading them to believe that the pipe had been leaking small amounts of carbon monoxide for several months before it broke through.

Brandon had been suffering from significant headaches for some time, and Bethany said they both had had difficulty even waking up in the mornings.

But they never thought a CO leak was the culprit, until that Thanksgiving morning.

“She (Bethany) could’ve passed away,” Branscum said. “She’s lucky. The good Lord was looking out for her.”

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