Portsmouth, Va. – Two people have died and a third is in critical condition from an apparent case of carbon monoxide poisoning in Portsmouth on Wednesday morning.
Isaac Lee Bowser, 47, and William James “Willie” Lashley, 86, were pronounced dead at the scene. A woman was taken to Maryview Hospital in critical condition and then transferred to DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk for treatment in a hyperbaric facility.
Capt. Paul Hoyle said emergency personnel responded at 9:17 a.m. to a residence on Spruce Street after a contract worker called and said he could not gain entrance to the home and that he heard a generator running inside.
Emergency personnel arrived on the scene and found a gas-powered generator running inside the house.
No cause of death has been determined, but Hoyle said it is being investigated as a possible case of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Hoyle stressed that gas-powered appliances should never be operated inside a home, and every residence should have working carbon monoxide detectors.