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Print2 die from carbon monoxide poisoning
Posted: 02/09/13 at 12:55 pm Updated: 02/10/13 at 8:57 am
Tags: carbon monoxide blizzard Dorchester
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ROXBURY, Mass. (WHDH) -- An 11-year-old boy who went into cardiac arrest due to carbon monoxide poisoning in Roxbury Saturday died at Boston Medical Center.
A 20-year-old was also found dead in his car in Mattapan on Saturday due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Fire officials said when they arrived on scene they found neighbors performing CPR on the boy. Officials say the father and son were shoveling a walkway when the boy got cold and sat in a running car to get warm.
The back of the car was completely encased in about four feet of snow and the exhaust pipe was blocked. The car filled with carbon monoxide, according to Boston fire officials.
“The car filled up with carbon monoxide gases that weren’t escaping through the exhaust system and the boy was overcome. He went into cardiac arrest,” said Steven McDonald, Boston Fire Department.
A neighbor heard the father in distress and ran to give CPR.
“The father brings the little boy into my hallway and lays him on the ground and then he comes back out and collapses himself. Myself and another neighbor noticed the boy wasn’t breathing so we performed CPR on him,” said Shakina Phifer.
The victims were transported to Boston Medical Center where the boy later died. The father went into respiratory arrest and was treated for shock.
Two children were also hospitalized and are lucky to be alive. They were warming up in father’s running car.
“It’s very dangerous. I feel terrible. People clearly hadn’t cleared out their tailpipe before they went in a car,” said a local.
The father called 9-1-1 and an off-duty firefighter responded. Both children, ages 5 and 8, are being treated at the hospital and are expected to survive.
A snow-clogged tailpipe was the culprit of each accident. With nowhere to go, the deadly gas creeps back into the car.
“If you’re out digging your car out of the snow banks, we tell you if you want to start your car, let it warm up, don’t sit in your car while you’re doing that,” said Roderick Fraser, Fire Commissioner.
