State College, PA – By Lara Brenckle, Centre Daily Times
A Patton Township woman was found dead in her house Monday, the apparent victim of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Alpha Fire Company and Patton Township police were called to the home at 2131 N. Oak Lane about 2 p.m. in response to a carbon monoxide alarm.
A police officer, who arrived at the house before the Fire Department, had moved 49-year-old Keith Tanner outside the home.
He was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center and then flown to Altoona Hospital. His condition was unavailable Monday evening.
The second individual, Wendy Tanner, 43, was found dead in the house.
Fire officials said there were also several pets in the home at the time. Several dogs and a cat were killed by the fumes, police said.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, often-fatal gas that can develop when burning fuel isn’t adequately vented.
Firefighters ventilated the house and took carbon monoxide readings.
Police officials said they think the house had filled with carbon monoxide from a gasoline-powered generator the couple had been running in a garage attached to their house.
This is the second such death in the last three years.
In December, 2002, 10-year-old Abigail Yeagley and her father, 43-year-old Andrew J. Heckman, were found dead in Heckman’s College Township apartment.
The carbon monoxide was later traced to the building’s faulty natural gas heating system. The problem was later corrected.