Carbon monoxide kills 3

Grant County officials are stepping up safety education efforts for non-English speaking residents after three children of migrant workers died Monday night of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a gas generator used to power an electrical heater inside their home south of Royal City.

The children, ages 4 months to 8 years, were found unresponsive by their parents about 9 p.m. along with a 13-year-old sister and 21-year-old cousin, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

Gilberto Acosta Gallegos and Elba Villanueva Ramirez, who had been at work, called for help from their employer when they couldn’t wake the children.

Four-month-old Alan Y. Acosta Ramirez, 2-year-old Yadina Acosta Ramirez and 8-year-old Jose Gilberto Acosta Ramirez were declared dead when emergency personnel from the Royal City area arrived to help.

The other two victims, sister Katya P. Rodriguez and cousin Jazmin E. Ramirez, were taken to Samaritan Hospital in serious condition.

“All the firefighters and hospital staff and Grant County commissioners – none of us want to see this happen again,” said Kyle Foreman, who works for Grant County Emergency Management. “Everyone is sick about this.”

Power was temporarily out in the area, called Smyrna, five miles south of Royal City. That’s why the family was using the generator.

Last year, another non-English speaking family was poisoned by carbon monoxide after bringing a charcoal barbecue inside, Foreman said. That family survived.

That’s why Grant County has stepped up efforts to warn everyone in the community, including those who don’t speak English, about how to protect themselves from carbon monoxide poisoning. English and Spanish fliers on the topic are being posted in public locations across the county, Foreman said.

Gasoline-powered devices such as generators should never be used indoors – including in campers and tents – because they can generate high amounts of carbon monoxide, poisoning anyone inside. So can barbecues and other carbon-burning heating devices.

Carbon monoxide is odorless but can kill people within minutes. It tricks the body into sending it around in the bloodstream instead of oxygen.

Carbon monoxide poisoning has been a problem in past winters in the Inland Northwest.

A Post Falls woman and her son were critically injured from inhaling carbon monoxide in February after using a portable propane heater in their travel trailer. Two Rogers High School students were seriously poisoned last December while working on a car with the engine running in a closed garage.

While most homes have smoke detectors, few have carbon monoxide detectors, said Spokane Valley Public Information Officer Bill Clifford.

Fire officials recommend that people have a carbon monoxide detector on each level of their home. That’s particularly important if they use gas heat, Clifford said.

Getting the information out to non-English speakers is essential, said Foreman. “We have some cultural differences we have to bridge.”