Waterloo, IA – Authorities have released the names of two people found dead in a Waterloo home Sunday.
Police identified the deceased as Damon Scott Gould II, 29, and Shalynn Kay Boike, also known as Shalynn Wellner, 33. They were found inside 4011 E. Shaulis Road with two dead dogs, according to authorities.
Initial autopsies were completed, but causes of death are pending toxicology tests, according to Waterloo police. Officials said no foul play is suspected. Police are investigating the possibility the deaths were linked to exhaust from a gasoline-powered generator in the attached garage.
The house was vacant because of damage from recent flooding on the Cedar River that also knocked out power to the home, according to police. Police said the generator was at the house to provide limited electricity.
Gould and Boike had been without a place to stay, and the owner knew the two and offered to allow them to spend the night at the Shaulis Road house, said Lt. Greg Fangman with the Waterloo Police Department. They arrived at the home at about 12:45 a.m. Sunday.
Shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday, the owner arrived at the house to let the dogs out and discovered the bodies, police said.
Officials weren’t able to determine the amount of carbon monoxide inside the house. A fire department meter that gives an exact reading malfunctioned, said Battalion Chief Mike Moore with Waterloo Fire Rescue. But a carbon monoxide alarm carried on the paramedics’ jump kit went off when they got to the house.
It was sounding. It was going off as soon as they hit the door, Moore said.
Most carbon monoxide alarms activate at 50 to 60 parts per million. Moore said a generator like the one in the garage can easily fill a house with 1,000 or more parts per million.
The Centers for Disease Control recommends portable generators only be used outdoors, far from open windows, door and vents. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can be lethal in minutes.
If exhaust is found to have played a role, this will be Waterloo Fire Rescue’s second significant carbon monoxide call involving a generator this year. In March, three adults and a 15-month-old child were taken to a hospital after firefighters and paramedics were called to an Archer Avenue home. All survived.
The Archer Avenue home had been without power, and the generator was placed in a laundry room with a nearby sliding window in a door left open for ventilation.