Fatal Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Orlando Home
As communities throughout Florida attempt to recover from the devastating effects of hurricane Irma, stories are beginning to emerge from those who experienced the storm. While the loss of life as a direct result of the hurricane seems thankfully smaller than feared, the terrifying weather event still caused thousands to be displaced, billions of dollars worth of damage, and numerous fatalities. Unfortunately, there are also reports of numerous deaths and injuries that occurred after the storm passed, deaths and injuries that could have been prevented.
On Tuesday, members of the Orange County Fire Rescue team received a call just after 5:00 in the evening directing them to Orlando’s 5618 Eggleston Avenue. When they arrived, the rescuers were confronted with six people, all of whom seemed to be suffering from severe poisoning by carbon monoxide. Current details on the event are slow in emerging (due in part to the extremely high number of emergency cases that investigators and Orlando deputies are currently investigating), however it seems clear from the report that the six individuals were all occupying a house where a generator was in use after Irma knocked most of the city off the grid.
Three of the individuals discovered at this address were transported to Florida Hospital Orlando where they were immediately placed on advanced life support. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office also issued a statement saying that they are currently involved in investigating at least one death that happened at the same address.
As stated, the individuals in the home were using a generator to provide them with power, something that many people in the city found themselves forced to do after the weekend. What made this particular case unusual is that the residents on the property decided to use the generator inside of the home. This resulted in a deadly cloud of carbon monoxide blooming inside the building, beginning to asphyxiate all those inside.
None of the names of the individuals involved have been released, and it is not entirely clear just how many people died as a result of the carbon monoxide in the air, however it seems that at least one child and two adults were pronounced dead as a result of the terrible incident.
James O. Cunningham
Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.
