Youth Camp Counselor Dies of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Wisconsin Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (Wisconsin FACE) ; Wisconsin. Division of Public Health. Bureau of Occupational Health
• Description:
  A 15-year-old male camp counselor (the victim) died of carbon monoxide poisoning when the furnace malfunctioned in the cabin where he was sleeping. The victim had worked as a counselor at the camp for nine weeks, then planned to stay an extra week after the camp closed in late summer to assist with clean-up. On the night of the incident, he was the only person assigned to sleep in the building that housed the health services. The wood frame building had an furnace room which housed an LP gas fueled furnace and LP gas fueled water heater. The water heater was used continuously throughout the summer, while the furnace was only used infrequently and for brief time periods. There were no records to indicate when the furnace and water heater had been inspected or repaired. Smoke detectors were located on two opposite ends of the building, which held sleeping quarters for four people. There were no carbon monoxide detectors in the building. The victim went to the building about 8:30 p.m. the eve of the incident, and turned on the furnace before he went to bed. He kept the windows and doors closed. When the victim didn't show up for breakfast the next morning, a supervisor went to the building and found him motionless in bed. Emergency services were summoned, and EMS arrived at the scene within 25 minutes. The first responders found no signs of life in the victim, then exited the building until the sheriff arrived. The sheriff viewed the scene and determined there were no signs of foul play. The coroner was called to the scene, and pronounced the victim dead. The FACE investigator concluded that, to prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Ensure that gas fueled appliances are installed and maintained to prevent production and buildup of carbon monoxide. 2. Ensure gas fueled appliances are inspected on a schedule recommended by the manufacturers by knowledgeable technicians with authority to make changes. 3. Install carbon monoxide detectors in buildings with gas fueled appliances. Additionally, emergency workers who respond to the scene of an unexplained death should: 4. Be trained in the hazards of an asphyxiating environment and methods to protect themselves during rescue and recovery efforts.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program
  
  not printed on the report.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Safety Management Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Children Gas-detectors Gas-indicators Gases Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 5 Poison-gases Protective-measures Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Training Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-areas Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Confined Space ; Youth
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE00WI080
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Wisconsin ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  4 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028181
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2008-113723
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 00WI080, 2001 Mar ; :1-4
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Performing Organization:
  Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  72 - Accommodation and Food Services - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1991/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3e059f117d32602e8fe6bee70fa701e968f40a4df749f2500d8124604889347b2d956b52fd2715ea56aa2f3c61fdb1704dc57926a281db7dac799dd42c174283
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166874/cdc_166874_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 56.33 KB ]