Carbon monoxide poisoning from furnace blamed in two Halifax deaths

HALIFAX — Carbon monoxide that came from a home’s furnace appears to have been the “silent killer” of a man and a woman in their 50s who were found dead at their duplex residence in Halifax early Friday.

Deputy Fire Chief Roy Hollett described the deaths as a tragedy that should remind all homeowners to install carbon monoxide units for the potentially fatal gas.

“You hear it said that carbon monoxide is the silent killer, and it’s true. You can’t smell it, you can’t see it, you can’t even taste it in the air,” he said during a telephone interview.

“The reason it’s so deadly is, it attaches to the hemoglobin in the blood more easily than oxygen. Carbon monoxide will … overcome you and you will gradually become unconscious.”

Hollett says in the case on Marilyn Drive in the suburb of Dartmouth, fire investigators detected extremely high levels of carbon monoxide on the scene after police had arrived at the scene at 8:30 a.m. and discovered the lifeless bodies of the two residents.

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They shut off an oil furnace, ventilated the building and evacuated the neighbours from the duplex next door.

Two hundred parts per million of the gas in the air will cause headaches within hours; 400 parts per million will cause nausea within two hours, while 800 parts per million will cause a typical adult to lose consciousness within 45 minutes, said Hollett.

The deputy fire chief said investigators remain unclear whether the exposure to the gas occurred in a short burst or whether there was a gradual buildup overnight, and it may require an autopsy report before that issue is clear.

“One issue we’re putting out there is that if you have a wood stove or oil furnace, please install a carbon monoxide detector, and if you don’t have the means to get one, please call us,” said Hollett, who added the home didn’t appear to have a detector during an initial inspection.

There had been other cases in the city where furnaces were leaking and vents were blocked, but detectors alerted the family in time, said the firefighter.

The fire department has responded to 152 calls about carbon monoxide risk since Jan. 1, 2016, and 87 were investigated, though there were no deaths last year that Hollett could recall.

Police spokeswoman Const. Dianne Penfound said there is no evidence to suggest foul play in the deaths.

A forensic identification unit, the medical examiner and the provincial Labour Department are exploring the circumstances surrounding the couple’s death.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press