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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Carbon monoxide poisoning killed inn owner

By: Staff Writer

23/12/2009 6:29 PM | Comments: 8

Manitoba’s chief medical examiner confirmed Wednesday St. Adolphe resident Bill Senderewich died of carbon monoxide poisoning last week.

Senderewich, 59, was found unconscious at the St. Adolphe Motor Inn, which he owned and operated, on Dec. 9. He was rushed to a Winnipeg hospital where he died on Dec. 18.

Chief medical examiner Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra said carbon monoxide, a tasteless, odourless, and colourless gas toxic to humans and animals, leaked from a faulty furnace in the inn, causing death. 

He said Workplace Safety and Health have shut down the furnace and will not turn it back on until it is repaired.

 

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8 Commentscomment icon

depositchange - that is not exactly how the situation played out.

Knowing the family personally, I think it's best not to comment on "how it happened" at this point (Not just you personally depositchange, everyone).

My condolenses to the family of "Bill from the hotel", as he was known by many.

(And I wish the FP would post a correction regarding the article it printed in today's paper, he did not die of "CO2" poisoning- it was CO. FP editors too much into global warming think?)

"If you have no actual facts, don't comment using coffee shop gossip..."

Just to clarify, those members of the community happen to be immediate and extended family members. Not people that were out of the loop on the situation.

I wouldn't exactly call that coffee shop gossip.

Dunder, good facts and tips.

MBGuy: Thank you Captain Obvious. I am aware of that.

Carbon monoxide is produced from the combustion of natural gas, among other things. If the furnace was defective, chances are it wasn't burning the gas properly leading to ventilation problems to begin with, hence the smell of natural gas in the air.

It only takes 35 ppm (0.0035% of the air in a room) to cause a headache, while higher concentrations can kill a person in 1-3 minutes.

avatar

The most common problem is when you run an exhaust fan (kitchen hood, bathroom, dryer) and the fan sucks down air from the furnace flue. Normally a furnace should be kept inside it's own room, somewhat closed off from normal air flow inside the house. Then you get two fresh-air intakes installed. One inside the furnace room, and the other outside.

This way the furnace has it's own source of air for it's combustion needs, and will naturally vent through the chimney without being affected by the fans around the house. Seal up all those ducts tight.


An even better way to ensure a tight house is to wire every fan to a central load detector that will adjust the speed of an intake fan according to needs. You'll have less airflow through leaky windows.

If you or your family have noticeably worse health in the heating season, then you should get the house checked out.

...and further to that, when "members of the community are already talking", you can count on exaggerated and inaccurate information.

If you have no actual facts, don't comment using coffee shop gossip.

depositchange: you can't smell carbon monoxide, that's part of why it's so dangerous

We haven't heard the end of this story just yet. Members of the community are already talking about the fact that days before the man was found, a furnace repairman had been called because the hotel owners smelled the gas, and were complaining of headaches.

A repairman was called, who left simply stating there wasn't a problem. Evidently he was wrong.

Such a shame, and definitely a reminder of the importance of both fire and carbon monoxide detectors in homes and businesses. My condolences to the family.

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