Faulty Heater May Have Caused Death of Girl, 17

City building inspectors have discovered that one of many defective apartment wall heaters may have been responsible for the carbon monoxide poisoning of a 17-year-old girl.

Pacific Gas & Electric representatives, along with building inspectors, examined the Berkeley Park Apartments on Wednesday and Thursday looking for any defects that may have caused the death of Seetha Vemi Reddy.

Seetha died Wednesday after her roommate found her and her sister, who had to be carried from their apartment, apparently overcome by lethal fumes. Lalitha Reddy, 15, was released from a local hospital Thursday.

Inspectors found that 27 heaters at the apartment complex were not burning cleanly, according to PG&E; spokesman John Franks. Workers capped the gas supply pipe to several apartments and disconnected the coils that feed the heaters.

In Seetha’s apartment, “you had the combination of a heater which was putting out a lot of carbon monoxide and a heating vent that was plugged,” Franks said.

Some of the heaters at Berkeley Park had readings of 2,000 parts per million of carbon monoxide. Amounts above 100 parts per million are considered unsafe, Franks said.

Carbon monoxide interferes with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to the heart and brain.

Tenants interviewed by the Contra Costa Times said they had not experienced problems with the heaters or experienced any symptoms associated with carbon monoxide poisoning.

“We’ll work on those heaters immediately as soon as the shops open tomorrow,” the building’s owner, Vijay Reddy, said Thursday.

Vijay Reddy is not related to the Reddy sisters.

Berkeley Park tenants were relocated to area hotels while the inspections took place and apartment rooms were posted as off-limits. Vijay Reddy said the city would have to give clearance for the repairs before residents could move back into the apartment complex.