Deaths of Couple, Children Blamed on Defective Gas Heater

The bodies of a man, woman and two young girls were discovered in their East San Diego apartment Thursday, and a preliminary investigation into the cause of death points to toxic fumes from a faulty, gas-fueled wall heater, officials said.

Deputy County Coroner William Leard said the couple and the two children were last seen Friday night and appeared to have been dead for “several days.” He said the probable cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.

The adults were identified as Andrea J. Clay, 21, and Marvin Buie, 28. The young victims were Precious, 4, and Khortnee Clay, 10 months. Leard said Buie was a part-time assembly worker.

The bodies were discovered about 2 p.m. Thursday after police received a call from a neighbor complaining about a foul odor emanating from the family’s apartment in the 5700 block of Bates Street, San Diego Police Sgt. Jim Long said.

Makeshift Beds

The woman and her children were found in makeshift beds on the floor of the apartment’s two bedrooms; Leard said they appeared to have died in their sleep. Leard said Buie was not in either of the bedrooms, but he declined to reveal where he was found.

“I just don’t want to get into that now,” he said.

Sgt. Long said the deaths would be ruled accidental unless more evidence emerges.

Fred Vaughn, a spokesman for San Diego Gas & Electric Co., said the company’s initial investigation indicated that the apartment’s wall heater, a manually operated gas unit with three settings, was dirty and functioning improperly. The furnace, which was in the living room, was at its highest setting when police arrived.

“The problem with a wall heater is that, unlike other furnaces, you share the living space with it,” Vaughn said. “In this case, they were getting incomplete combustion, and what that means is carbon monoxide and other residual gases can vent into the room.”

Vaughn said investigators found “quite a bit” of lint and dust clogging the heater’s air intake chamber.

“If your air mixer is blocked and not allowing a free flow of air to go into the heater, then you can have problems,” Vaughn said.

Because carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless, victims are frequently unaware of poisoning until they have been exposed to large quantities of the gas. Typically, problems develop in homes that are tightly sealed or have poor ventilation.

Leard said relatives and acquaintances of the victims said they had lived “from here to there, mostly in motels, until they scrounged up enough money to rent the apartment.” He said the family occupied the unit Dec. 1.

The deaths marked the first case of carbon monoxide poisoning in San Diego this year. In 1987, a flurry of incidents, none of which led to deaths, occurred during a record-breaking cold spell that gripped the county in December. In a two-week period, 22 carbon monoxide poisonings were reported.

Vaughn said wall heaters are safe when kept clean and properly maintained.

“Wall furnaces were popular in homes built in San Diego between the 1930s and the 1960s, and there is nothing wrong with them,” Vaughn said. “But, to be safe, they should be checked, and dust or lint or soot should be vacuumed out of the interior of the air mixer.”