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DiskDoctr
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Aug 09, 2013

Generator asphyxiates camper

Sad story, local people away from home.

http://www.wjactv.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.pa/28f52aba-www.wjactv.com.shtml#.UgRV3G12nDc

Camper dies from carbon monoxide poisoning August 08, 2013 16:48 EDT CRESAPTOWN, Md. (AP) -- The Allegany County Sheriff's Department says a camper at the fairgrounds in Cresaptown has died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Deputies say 75-year-old William E. Miller of Windber, Pa., was pronounced dead Thursday morning at his RV. His wife, 76-year-old, Ruth L. Miller, was taken to a hospital in Cumberland. Officials say the Millers started a gas generator near the rear of their RV shortly before going to sleep Wednesday night.

Deputies say the generator was only several feet from the recreation vehicle, with its exhaust pointing toward the RV. Officials say the couple fell asleep with the generator running, and exhaust fumes entered the RV.

The couple was discovered Thursday morning.


Notice the generator was running OUTSIDE the camper. Be careful out there. God rest his soul.
  • I normally am a pretty diligent guy. But I remember back years ago when staying overnight at a Flying J. It was 10 Degrees that night. We ran our EU2000 Honda all night so we could have our furnace run. Battery was weak. Placed Gen on the ground under the rear bumper. And locked it to the bumper with a bicycle chain lock. Exhaust was pointing out. Never occurred to me that CO would enter our 5'r.

    I rarely use our gen. This post is sad. But a very good reminder for everybody.
  • fla-gypsy wrote:
    That is so sad and preventable. This type of incident is why it gripes my behind so much on this forum when some of us try to talk genuinely about safety, hazard recognition and risk management and we get all the snarky comments from those who think nothing will ever happen to them. It may not, but it happened to these people and it didn't have to. To way to many people here, "Safety" is just a buzzword and means absolutely nothing.


    X2. There is no good reason for anyone to be without a CO and smoke detecter. Also I will add that one should also have a TPMS. Especially if you have a trailer or fiver. Knowing that a tire is having problems could save you some grief, money and maybe your life.

    BTW the CO detecter should apply to your home also. Thankfully I had one and it saved my life when the furnace malfunctioned.
  • Sad, but totally preventable. We have slept hundreds of nights in RVs running the gen all night. This was a stand alone gen, no stack. Obviously no CO detector. As is usually the case, it was not one single mistake but a combination of events lining up.
    Exhaust pointing the wrong way, no stack, no CO detector and probably an open window.
  • That is so sad and preventable. This type of incident is why it gripes my behind so much on this forum when some of us try to talk genuinely about safety, hazard recognition and risk management and we get all the snarky comments from those who think nothing will ever happen to them. It may not, but it happened to these people and it didn't have to. To way to many people here, "Safety" is just a buzzword and means absolutely nothing.
  • Life's too short to risk running a genny under your coach while you sleep. Never ever do it, and there's no chance of dying from it.
  • I never run my generator at night, and I also make sure I have a functioning detector.
    On Class A pushers, the generator (at least on mine) is in the front. On my former gas Class A, it was, as stated, under the bedroom.

    GM
  • You can buy CO detectors that actually measure the CO level and display it which is nice if you are worried that levels are elevating.
  • They may have had a non-functioning CO detector.

    I've always been a risk taker but one thing I never do is run my generator after I go to bed. My generator is under the bedroom, as most are in a class A.

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