A storm that hit the Capital District late last week and left more than 200,000 people without power had tragic consequences for a Glenville couple who were using a gas generator to power their home. Ralph and Mary Fazio were found dead the morning of Saturday, Dec. 13, of carbon monoxide poisoning, and authorities said the generator was the likely culprit.
Glenville police Lt. Rick Conley said the couple’s daughters and son-in-law discovered their parents early Saturday.
[They] went to the house to check on the family. They were trying to call and there was no answer on the phone, said Conley.
Ralph Fazio, Jr., 65, was found downstairs and taken to Ellis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His wife, Mary Fazio, 61, was found dead in an upstairs bedroom.
`Carbon monoxide plays tricks on you. You kind of feel groggy and stuff like that, but it sneaks up on you. It’s odorless, it’s colorless, and it sneaks up on you before you know it,` said John Nuzback, Schenectady County fire and EMS coordinator.
Officials say a gas-powered generator that was found in the Fazios’ garage was the source of the high levels of carbon monoxide that filled the house.
Officials found that there were two doors in the garage leading to the backyard; one was open and one was shut. They suspect that one of the doors had blown shut during the middle of the night due to high winds, causing the house to fill with the toxic levels of carbon monoxide due to lack of ventilation.
`The initial readings were 300 parts per million, and on a recheck with a second meter, the reads were 600 parts per million on the second floor, 300 parts per million on the first floor and 100 parts per million on the basement,` said Bill Antrim, Thomas Corners Fire Department assistant fire chief.
`Thirty parts per million can effect your health and I know [the carbon monoxide levels] were well beyond that,` said Conley.
Dr. Rodger Barrowman, chief of Ellis Hospital’s Emergency Department, said that, especially during this time of year, people put themselves at risk by placing generators and wood stoves in parts of their homes that aren’t ventilated well, especially when the power goes out.
`The great risk is that you get a build up of carbon monoxide over long periods of time,` said Barrowman. `It’s odorless; it’s very difficult to detect other than that you smell fumes, but sometimes it’s so subtle that toxic levels build up, and the way it really works is that it replaces oxygen in the hemoglobin molecule in the blood and the organs get denied oxygen and essentially die,` said Barrowman.
He said that process can happen in a matter of minutes if a person is exposed to sufficient quantities. When people are exposed, their symptoms are so vague they can be mistaken for something as simple as the onset of the flu. While you don’t die immediately from carbon monoxide, prolonged exposure can kill you.
`It’s headache; it’s nausea; it’s lethargy. That sounds like having some bad food or early symptoms of the flu or being hung-over. It’s very non-specific,` said Barrowman.
Since the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning can be hard to determine, officials emphasized the importance of having carbon monoxide detectors in home. Those will go off well before it’s too late to get out and can be purchased at any hardware store.
`The two big things are to emphasize are that people ventilate their houses well and don’t heat their homes with machines that use gas without outside ventilation,` said Barrowman.
He also said that if you do have exposure to carbon monoxide, get treated as soon as possible.
`[Exposure to carbon monoxide] is reversible with high concentrations of oxygen within several minutes to a few hours,` said Barrowman.
People who have been exposed to very high levels who are unconscious can be placed in hyperbaric chambers, which can help with the recovery process.
`There’s a concern with brain injury, but it’s treatable and reversible,` said Barrowman.“