Carbon Monoxide detector was in home
Man died while sleeping in basement
Lack of maintenance blamed
Carbon monoxide kills St. Paul man
Carbon monoxide appears to have killed man sleeping in St. Paul basement. Children were removed from home before the cause of death was apparent.
**By [ANTHONY LONETREE](http://www.startribune.com/bios/10645316.html),** Star Tribune
Last update: January 7, 2008 - 4:28 PM
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A 21-year-old man died in the basement of a home in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood this morning after being exposed to carbon monoxide, authorities said.
“He didn’t have a chance,” Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said.
The victim was ruled dead at the scene at 563 Asbury St. after authorities responded to a report of a man not breathing about 5:51 a.m., Zaccard said.
But it wasn’t until about 7:30 a.m. – when a carbon monoxide detector in the house sounded – that the apparent cause of death was known.
Two adults and three children then were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, which has a hyperbaric chamber that helps treat smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.
“They are conscious and alert,” Zaccard said.
The children – all girls, ages 1, 5 and 11 – apparently had been up and about already, the fire marshal said, because they had been taken to a grandmother’s house after the initial 5:51 a.m. call to authorities. They were treated at that house before being taken to the hospital.
Police still were on the scene at 7:30 a.m. when the detector went off, Zaccard said, enabling them to alert the Fire Department, and find treatment for the adults and children.
Authorities determined that the carbon monoxide levels in the house were at 500 parts per million, which Zaccard said “is fatal in about three hours.” Xcel Energy found that the basement boiler was pumping out carbon monoxide at 4,700 parts per million. The boiler, Zaccard said, was only about 10 feet from where the dead man was sleeping.
**[Added from another news story-
**“It was found that they had a bad boiler in the basement. It was putting out 4,700 parts per million out the back of the boiler,” said Gulner. **"That was due to a malfunction with an electronic damper in the unit. **That’s what actually killed the young man in the basement.]
“Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless and by the time you realize that you’re suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, you can’t do anything about it,” he said. “You can’t move.”
It appeared the boiler had not been serviced for some time, Zaccard added.
The fire marshal said it was not known why the detector had not sound earlier. As of late morning, he said, he did not know on which floor the detector was situated.