Pensacola, FL- Sean Smith, Pensacola News Journal
A Pensacola man died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator running in a closed garage after Hurricane Dennis pushed ashore Sunday, the district medical examiner said Monday.
Guy Ford, 55, was found unconscious at about 11:55 p.m. Sunday in his home in the first block of Deluna Drive near Jackson Street, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Deputies and emergency medical crews were unable to revive him, and he later was pronounced dead at Baptist Hospital.
Three others in the home also were taken to Baptist Hospital after they complained of vomiting and severe headaches. Their conditions were not available Monday.
Dr. Andi Minyard, the district medical examiner, said the exact cause of death is pending toxicology reports that could take several weeks. But she said a running generator found in a closed garage and the symptoms shown by the three unidentified victims are consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Baptist Hospital reported that another 15 people were treated there and at Gulf Breeze Hospital for carbon monoxide-related ailments stemming from improper generator use on Sunday and Monday.
The Pensacola Fire Department reported that a middle-age couple who reside on Wynnehurst Street were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital on Monday morning with carbon monoxide poisoning from a gasoline-powered generator being operated inside their home. No further information was available.
Dr. John Lanza, director of Escambia County Health Department, cautioned that a generator never should be run in an enclosed room.
“Carbon monoxide is extremely dangerous,” he said. “It has insidious effects and comes on slowly. If you’re sleeping, there would be no symptoms, at all. It happens every storm.”