Man Dies From Fumes of Barbecue

A 24-year-old man died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning after inhaling fumes from a barbecue brought inside a Van Nuys apartment after a birthday dinner, authorities said Monday.

The victim was identified as Hugo Fontela of Los Angeles, said Bob Dambacher, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Fontela was found dead about 7 p.m. Sunday in a bedroom of the apartment in the 14000 block of Delano Street, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Alfonso Rodriguez said.

Fontela had been celebrating the birthday of a friend, Teodorico Torres, 28, the night before with a barbecue chicken dinner on the patio of Torres’ apartment, Rodriguez said.

Torres and his roommate, Guadalupe Rodriguez, 28, brought the barbecue inside about 11 p.m. and left it in the kitchen, Sgt. Rodriguez said. Torres told police he checked and thought the coals were extinguished when the three men went to sleep.

When Rodriguez and Torres awoke Sunday evening, they found Fontela dead, Rodriguez said. An autopsy is scheduled for later this week to determine the cause of death. A pet bird also was found dead in the kitchen.

Paramedics took Torres and Rodriguez, who were both feeling ill, to Valley Presbyterian Hospital, where they were treated and released, Rodriguez said.

Burning charcoal releases carbon monoxide--a colorless, odorless gas--said Dr. Marc Bayer of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn.’s Poison Center. Because of these qualities, Bayer said, “you would not even know you are being poisoned until it’s too late.”

Bayer said the gas causes blood cells to stop carrying oxygen to tissues, which can result in brain damage or internal suffocation and death.