2 Asphyxiated by Fumes in Trailer

A house painter and his wife were found asphyxiated Monday morning in a barbecue-heated trailer that they had parked in front of a Van Nuys job site, police said.

Sgt. Alfonso Rodriguez said the couple, whose names were withheld, apparently died in their sleep when they were overcome by carbon monoxide from the coals they were burning to heat the small trailer.

The painter had been working on several houses in the neighborhood, including the residence where he was parked, on the 5500 block of Cantaloupe Avenue, Rodriguez said.

He said such asphyxiation deaths are relatively common when people burn fuel to stay warm in tightly closed spaces, such as sheds, garages and trailers.

“The fire consumes the oxygen in your space and you die slowly,” he said. “There’s no warning because you’re sleeping. You just go into a deeper sleep.”

A friend of the couple who became concerned about them and at 10:40 a.m. called police who discovered the bodies upon entering the trailer, Rodriguez said.