A list of other carbon monoxide injuries or deaths in Canada

Posted on 09.07.2019 in the General category

WINNIPEG — Emergency officials in Winnipeg say dozens of people have been sickened by a suspect carbon monoxide leak at a hotel. Here is a list of other incidents involving carbon monoxide:

May 2019: A woman was killed and a young person was injured in a suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at a private campground in Salmon Arm, B.C. Police said it appeared they were affected while burning wood in a cooking pot inside their tent.

March 2019: Eighty people were taken to hospital in St. John’s, N.L., after being exposed to carbon monoxide at a hockey arena. The leak was linked to the rink’s ice cleaning machine.

January 2019: Officials said 124 children in Montreal suffered symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning following a gas leak at their elementary school. Eight weeks later 24 youth still showed symptoms of exposure.

January 2019: A hockey tournament in Montmartre, Sask., was cancelled when some players developed headaches over suspected carbon monoxide exposure. Health officials say the gas was present on the ice surface and in the arena’s lobby.

December 2018: A woman and her two children were rushed to hospital for treatment after they were found unresponsive in a car resting against a guard rail in Abbotsford, B.C. The fire department said vehicular carbon monoxide poisoning is most commonly caused when cars are left running in an enclosed space, but exhaust fumes can also leak into the passenger compartment.

December 2018: A family of five from Barriere, B.C., was airlifted to hospital in Vancouver in serious but stable condition. Two of the family members were unconscious when they were pulled form their home, and monitors worn by paramedics indicated high levels of the gas.

December 2018: Thirteen people with carbon monoxide poisoning were taken to hospital in Vancouver. Energy company FortisBC said a technician identified a problem with a boiler in their building.

May 2018: Two children, ages 7 and 10, were found groggy and unresponsive in the cabin of a boat in North Vancouver over the Victoria Day long weekend. They regained consciousness when moved into fresh air. Investigators found carbon monoxide had leaked from the boat’s inboard engine compartment into the cabin.

March 2018: A 10-month-old boy was pronounced dead in a hospital in Barrie, Ont., after his father arrived home to find his wife and the infant boy unresponsive. Their two-year-old daughter was alert, but showed signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.

February 2018: RCMP say a faulty water heater was to blame for a buildup of carbon-monoxide in a Calgary-area apartment block that killed a 12-year-old boy. The child was taken to hospital in critical condition and died.

December 2017: A farm company in Delta, B.C., said 43 workers received medical evaluation and treatment for carbon monoxide exposure after one employee reported feeling unwell. Workers were using gas-powered pressure washers in a greenhouse, which the fire department said did not have adequate ventilation.

November 2017: Investigators blamed a lack of boiler maintenance and a deteriorated chimney for a buildup of carbon monoxide gas in a Saskatoon apartment block where a 41-year-old woman was found dead. Fire officials said a leak allowed the gas to escape from the exhaust system and build up in the block’s interior.

October 2017: Carbon monoxide poisoning was suspected in the deaths of a man and woman in their 80s whose bodies were found in a west-end Toronto home. Fire officials said high levels of the deadly gas were detected in the residence.

May 2017: Two people were taken to hospital and 26 others were treated on scene after a carbon monoxide leak at a Saskatoon food manufacturing and labelling plant. It was determined the gas originated in a propane-fuelled forklift.

March 2017: Four people in a home near Ashcroft, B.C., died of carbon monoxide poisoning. RCMP officers who were responding to a request for a check on the home found four bodies inside.

December 2016: A person who died after he was found unresponsive from an apparent heart attack at a Winnipeg business was actually the victim of carbon monoxide. The fire commissioner said a vent cover on the building’s chimney had collapsed, preventing it from venting properly. The same business was evacuated the next day when up to 20 people started feeling sick.

May 2014: A property maintenance worker died from carbon monoxide exposure in a condominium parking garage in Scarborough, Ont. Court heard that six workers were using gasoline-powered washers when the internal exhaust fans in the garage stopped working. Portable fans failed to protect the workers from the gas. The employer was fined $75,000. 

The Canadian Press

Comments are closed.

Latest News