CA – Siskiyou Daily News – On Oct. 6, Dunsmuir residents, Michael and Ronda Cadwallader, their 8 children and a family friend suffered carbon monoxide poisoning after the power of their home was shut off.
Police were dispatched to the Cadwallader residence after a neighbor had called police to report a child screaming. Upon arrival officers from the sheriff’s department found the adults and small children lying and sitting in the front yard of the residence. They were immediately transported to Mercy Medical Center in Mount Shasta and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Cadwallader’s reportedly had been using a gas-powered generator to supply power to the home after their power had been shut off about a week prior. Electrical wires were passed through a large hole in the center of the home to appliances in order to supply energy from the generator. On the night of the incident one of the children reported that his brother turned on the generator inside the residence with the intent to watch a movie. The generator ran about 2 hours before the family felt the effects of carbon monoxide.
On Oct. 7, Dunsmuir building inspectors red-tagged the home; leaving the Cadwallader’s only permitted use during daylight hours; the house is restricted by the city for night-time inhabitancy.