Ossian, IN – IndyStar – A generator set up to heat a home where the power had been shut off filled the residence with carbon monoxide, killing one person and sickening five others, police said.
Wells County sheriff’s deputies who responded to a 911 call early Saturday at the house south of Fort Wayne found a 30-year-old man dead inside and five other people unconscious.
It was not clear how long the people had been unconscious before police arrived about 4:30 a.m. Saturday at the home in Ossian, about 15 miles south of Fort Wayne.
Carbon monoxide levels in the home measured more than 400 parts per million, enough to make rescuers dizzy even with an open door, The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported Sunday.
The occupants had been using the gasoline-powered generator in the basement for heat since the power was cut off about a week ago, the sheriff’s department said.
The dead man’s identity was not released Saturday pending notification of his family, and an autopsy was set to be conducted at St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne. The five others were treated at the scene, police said.
Police and emergency workers went to the home after a neighbor called 911 to report a resident had been speaking strangely.
Carbon monoxide at low concentrations causes fatigue in healthy people and chest pain in people with heart disease. Higher concentrations can cause impaired vision and coordination, headaches, dizziness, confusion, nausea and death.