Multiple Florida Deaths Due To Improper Generator Usage

[everjaded]

It happens after every major storm with power outages, it seems. Despite all the warnings and despite going against all common sense, there's always someone (or someones) who don't follow the safety protocols when using their generator, and end up poisoned or dead.

My bf actually got an emergency alert on his phone last night about this, which was a first for us.


1st story: 7 year old dies as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning due to generator being run inside the home. Her mother is taken to the hospital, and their next door neighbors were also exposed to very high levels of carbon monoxide.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation on Tuesday regarding the death of a seven-year-old who apparently died as the result of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator being run inside a home.

The girl’s mother, Shashunda Wilson, 41, who lives at Dossey Road South in Lakeland, said she work up this morning and felt dizzy.

Her daughter, Terryn Wilson, who sleeps in her bed with her, appeared to be dead.

Polk County Fire Rescue responded and found Shashunda sitting outside.

She told responders the generator was running in the living room while she and her daughter were asleep in the bedroom.

They took her to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for her carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms.

PCFR opened all of the windows in the home due to the high levels of carbon monoxide and checked the levels before allowing deputies inside.

Once inside, deputies found the victim, dead in the bed she shared with her mother.

The residence is a duplex and there were very high and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in the adjoining residence as well.

No other victims were affected.

“This is the first death our agency has worked related to Hurricane Irma. It’s a tragedy when anyone dies, but when a child dies, it’s a horrific tragedy,” said Polk County Sherriff Grady Judd.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the victim’s exact cause of death.

The following message was sent to residents via AlertPolk:

“Hello, this is Sheriff Grady Judd: this is an important public safety warning. We are conducting a death investigation of a 7 year-old Lakeland child who is believed to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The child was in a home where a portable generator was running in the living room. All generators and gas grills should be operated outside in well-ventilated locations, away from all doors and windows. Do not operate generators or grills in a garage. If you start to feel sick, dizzy, or weak while using a generator or gas grille, get to fresh air RIGHT AWAY. DO NOT DELAY. Then call 9-1-1. Together we can be safe.”

http://wfla.com/2017/09/13/lakeland...ent-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-from-generator/



2nd story: 3 family members are dead (including a child). 4 other family members were also inside the home and may not make it.

A running generator likely killed three family members and injured four others at an Orange County home.

Seven people were inside the home when a child called authorities at 5:01 p.m. Tuesday, officials said.

At least one of the victims was a juvenile.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is calling the incident an absolute tragedy.

The first deputy inside the door was overcome by the carbon monoxide fumes from the generator inside.

Three people, including at least one child, are dead and four other people who were rescued may not make it, officials said.

In a neighborhood powered only by generators after Hurricane Irma, the worst happened.

“It’s so sad because you know these people. They’re from your neighborhood, you know how bad it is,” neighbor Maria Tuzzeo said.

Authorities said two people were found dead inside the home and one person was able to make it outside, but collapsed and died.

Tuzzeo said she feels powerless. She had just seen the family outside grilling Monday night.

“I said hi to them, ‘How ya doing?’ and they said yes. To know that if I would have known there was a generator there, I would have…but they were all outside,” Tuzzeo said.

Officials believe it was a deadly accident.

http://wfla.com/2017/09/13/tragedy-running-generator-likely-killed-3-family-members-in-orange-co/

 

[Satanica]

I'm amazed that people can be this uninformed, and I'm not really sure where the failure lies. It can't be lack of access to tons of information about everything under the sun. I can understand when it's a situation or result of a technology mishap where people probably wouldn't realize the dangers, but not something as common as gasoline generator use. Or grills. Thought everyone on the planet knew about these.

 

[Sue sue]

The warning is also in the manual to the generator.

 

[everjaded]

Sigh. No deaths this time at least...

A couple was hospitalized in Hernando County after using a generator near their home on Friday.

Hernando County Fire Rescue and the City of Brooksville Fire Department responded to a medical call on Paul Drive.

The caller reported she and her husband were feeling ill. They said they had a generator running, but it was located outside.

Fire crews found a generator running outside of the home, in a breezeway.

They also encountered fumes in the home, indicating possible carbon monoxide.

Fire crews used gas meters and found dangerously elected levels of CO in the home.

Both people were taken to a hospital for signs of CO poisoning.

http://wfla.com/2017/09/15/couple-hospitalized-for-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-in-hernando-county/

 

[cubby]

Also too it's good to know to flip your main switch in your breaker box when you set up a generator, my son, an electrician, was explaining that to me the other day. This I did not know.

He was writing a detail list of what to do for his wife because he knew he might not be at home if they needed the generator. Luckily they never lost power, but he has been all over helping out.

 

[Alf]

Some people will wire a drier plug to the generator plug and use the resultant cable to feed power into the remainder of the house wiring through the drier receptacle.

Two groups of people call those "widowmakers": people who can see the dangers of having a solid source of 240 Volt biphasic or three-phase power sticking out on exposed prongs and electrical linemen.

An actual transfer switch is orders of magnitude safer. It will disconnect the house from the mains and connect it to the genset's output. That keeps the linemen from finding out the hard way that one's little generator has energized a transformer and the other side of the transformer now has high voltage on it. It also keeps one from accidentally zapping something or somebody within arm's reach that doesn't need to be zapped.

--Al

 

[everjaded]

A man died after being exposed to carbon monoxide from a generator in Highlands County on Friday.

The generator was running in the 62-year-old man’s garage. A friend went to check on the man and found him at the home.

A man was severely burned in another generator accident in Avon Park.

http://wfla.com/2017/09/15/man-killed-in-highlands-county-generator-accident/

 

[Lookathergo13]

Due to someone's stupidity the little ones and others suffer. It is really starting to hurt my brain how fucking stupid people in Florida are, I hate I live in this dick shaped state.