Polk County Fire Rescue responders opened all the windows and checked the carbon monoxide level before allowing deputies inside. There deputies found the little girl’s body in the bed she shared with her mother.
LAKELAND, FL — A 7-year-old girl died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning after a portable generator was run inside a home that had lost power during Hurricane Irma.
Terryn Wilson was sleeping beside her mother, Shasunda Wilson, 41, in a bedroom with a fan blowing on them, according to a news release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
A generator was running in the living room of the duplex home at 5124 Dossey Road S.
Shasunda Wilson awoke about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, feeling dizzy and found her daughter, apparently dead, beside her, the news release said. Shashunda Wilson was outside when emergency vehicles arrived and she was taken to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center.
Polk County Fire Rescue responders opened all the windows and checked the carbon monoxide level before allowing deputies inside. There deputies found the little girl’s body in the bed she shared with her mother.
Although the adjoining home in the duplex also had dangerous levels of carbon monoxide gas, no one was affected there, the release said.
Running generators produces carbon monoxide, an odorless, tasteless, invisible gas that can build up quickly in enclosed spaces and cause serious injury and death, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Anyone who starts to feel sick, dizzy or weak while a generator is operating nearby needs to get to fresh air immediately, not delaying to open windows or turn on fans to ventilate the area.
Generators should never be run inside a house or a partially enclosed structure, safety officials say.
Tuesday morning, Polk County Fire Rescue responded to two calls of probable carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from running generators. Two people were hospitalized in critical to serious condition after being rescued from a home in Lake Alfred and two people were rescued from a home in South Lakeland, both in fair condition. In both those instances generators had been set up in enclosed garages.
Polk County Fire Rescue gives this advice on the operation of generators:
‒ Generators and gas grills should be operated in well-ventilated locations, outdoors, away from all doors, windows and vent openings.
‒ Never use a generator or gas grill in an attached garage, even with the door open.
‒ Place generators so that exhaust fumes cannot enter the home through windows, doors or other openings in the building.
‒ Install carbon monoxide alarms in your home. Follow manufacturer’s instructions for correct placement and mounting height.
‒ Turn off generators and let them cool down before refueling. Never refuel a generator while it is running.
‒ Store fuel for the generator in a container that is intended for the purpose and is correctly labeled. Store the containers outside of living areas. Propane tanks should also be turned off when not in use and stored outdoors.
‒ Do not connect a generator to your home’s electrical system without a licensed electrician providing a means to connect. Improper wiring creates the danger of back feeding the power system, energizing downed lines and fatally electrocuting anyone who contacts those lines.
“This is the first death our agency has worked related to Hurricane Irma,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in the news release. “It’s a tragedy when anyone dies, but when a child dies, it’s a horrific tragedy. Please, please follow safety instructions that we have stressed over and over so no other tragedies such as this one occur.”
An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of the girl’s death.
Anyone who has a poisoning emergency can call the Florida Poison Information Center at 1-800-222-1222. If the person has collapsed or is not breathing, call 911 immediately.