‘Dirty’ Furnace Fumes Send 13 to the Hospital

A “very dirty” wall furnace in a small southeast San Diego home was blamed for the carbon monoxide poisoning Monday morning of 13 sleeping adults and children. The incident was the latest in a rash of such poisonings occurring since a record-breaking cold spell gripped the area.

While all 13 people became sick, none was reported seriously hurt by the toxic fumes. But the poisoning prompted utility officials to once again warn residents to check their heaters and furnaces to be sure they are clean and operating properly.

Of the people bundled against the cold in the home in the 1900 block of S. 40th Street, eight were treated in the hyperbaric chamber at the UC San Diego Medical Center after they awoke in the three-bedroom home suffering severe headaches, nausea and vomiting.

In two unrelated incidents Sunday, six other county residents were treated for similar carbon monoxide poisoning.

Weather-Related Accidents

Officials are concerned that the combination of dirty or faulty heaters and the current cold snap in San Diego is responsible for the high number of residents--22 since Dec. 10--who have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and undergone treatment in the new hyperbaric chamber.

The worst accident occurred on Dec. 16 when Roseanne Keefe, an 8-year-old girl, died after she was overcome by carbon monoxide fumes that spewed from a wall furnace in her Imperial Beach home. Her parents and brother, all found unconscious, were later treated in the hyperbaric chamber.

The steel cylinder chamber, opened in July, allows patients to sit in an atmosphere of 100% oxygen and gradually expel the effects of carbon monoxide.

“It’s the only one of its kind south of Los Angeles,” said Pat JaCoby, a spokeswoman at the medical center. “It’s new and we’re getting our money out of it.”

The majority of the patients who have been treated in the chamber became ill after wall furnaces began spewing carbon monoxide fumes into their homes.

“The problem with the wall furnace is it’s in the same room you live in and burns the same air you breathe,” said Fred Vaughn, a spokesman for San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

“So the wall furnace sits right there in the living room or bedroom or whatever and if you have a very tightly sealed house, you can develop a problem if carbon monoxide is coming out.”

Clean Furnaces

The majority of problems with wall furnaces are due to uncleanliness, with dirt and soot clogging the burner or blocking vents. Vaughn said homeowners should vacuum or brush away dirt from the burner and make sure to clean around the outside vent.

He said the utility will clean the heater for free, but there is a long backlog of requests pending.

At the home on S. 40th Street Monday afternoon, SDG&E; examined the furnace in the hallway and noted that the vent was sooted, “causing a floating flame” inside the furnace.

Vaughn said that part of the burner was not burning because the interior of the furnace was “very dirty and there was a visible buildup of dust and soot on the vent itself.”

“In this particular case, because about a dozen people were in there using the same air, the small amount of carbon monoxide coming out became significant so that they were overcome,” he added. “One person could have lived there for some time without a problem, but the heater was edging toward a problem eventually.”

Cirilo Rios, 43, the owner of the house, said SDG&E; unhooked the gas to the heater until he can repair the unit. Rios, a San Marcos construction worker, said he bought the house about 13 years ago, but believes the furnace is about 20 years old.

“I only turn it on during the wintertime,” he said, adding that he turned it on again “just about three or four weeks ago.”

An electric space heater is shelved in a back bedroom, he said, and the wall furnace was used as the main source of warmth for the people staying in the small, one-story home.

Woke With Headaches

He and his wife, Maria, 47, said they awoke about 3 a.m. when their 20-year-old daughter, Abigail, became ill.

“My daughter woke up with a headache,” said Maria. “She had a real bad headache. I was getting ready to take her to the doctor and then everybody woke up feeling bad.

“They were shaking a lot, getting real cold and dizzy.”

Those who underwent treatment in the hyperbaric chamber were Abigail Rios, Victoria Rios, 17; Lourdes Rios, 16; Rene Rios 9; Alberto Angulo, 14; Maria Salvador, 27; Juan Monrroy, 8; and Lady Monrroy, 6.

“These people were in the chamber for two hours,” said JaCoby, the medical center spokeswoman. “It’s a big tank. Twelve people can get in. And it really looks like a diving chamber, all sealed up. You look in portholes to see the people inside.”

In the two incidents Sunday, all six victims were treated in the hyperbaric chamber.

One incident occurred in Encinitas when a forced-air gas heater was not venting properly. In the second incident, a National City family of four became ill after inhaling fumes from a charcoal grill that had been lighted inside their home to keep them warm.