Generator Exhaust Kills 2 in Kennesaw

Updated Saturday, 5 a.m.

Two Kennesaw men died early Friday when a generator filled their house with lethal levels of carbon monoxide.

Cobb Fire spokesman Lt. Dan Dupree confirmed the identity of one of the men as Michael Cox, 55. Fox 5 reports that the other victim was James Benjamin, Cox's 21-year-old stepson.

and found the men dead in a bedroom at 1919 Twelve Oaks Circle after receiving a 911 call from a woman in the home shortly after midnight, Dupree told Patch. The street is just west of Cherokee Street, not far from the and .

The woman and a child, reported by the AJC as Cox's daughter and her 10-year-old son, were taken to for their exposure to carbon monoxide fumes. The boy was sent on to one of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospitals, said Dupree.

Dupree said fire officials suspected carbon monoxide poisoning before arriving on the scene and had their monitors turned on. The alarms started going off 10 feet from the front door, said Dupree. The highest reading inside the home was a "lethal level" of 500 parts per million, he said.

The electricity to the home was shut off Thursday morning, and the residents began running a borrowed generator around 7:30 or 8 p.m. reported Fox 5.

Dupree said it's unclear which power company served the residence.

Ken Lewis told WSB-TV he lent his neighbors the generator to heat the house during a night when temperatures plunged below 40 degrees. Lewis said it is a 3,000-watt generator.

Dupree said the residents positioned the generator in a sliding doorway at the back of the house, and the exhaust fumes apparently blew into the home.

Dupree said that with the winter heating season, carbon monoxide poisoning "is always an issue." It's important to have a carbon monoxide detector installed on all levels of the house and to read the owner's manual, he said. He added that unlike a smoke detector, it will only alarm depending on what level it's sensing.

"Have your gas furnaces and stuff maintained properly," said Dupree. "Anything that burns fossil fuels will generate carbon monoxide."

The CDC gives the following guidelines to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning:

• Do have your heating system, water heater and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year.
• Do install a battery-operated CO detector in your home and check or replace the battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall. If the detector sounds leave your home immediately and call 911.
• Do seek prompt medical attention if you suspect CO poisoning and are feeling dizzy, light-headed, or nauseous.
• Don't use a generator, charcoal grill, camp stove, or other gasoline or charcoal-burning device inside your home, basement, or garage or near a window.
• Don't run a car or truck inside a garage attached to your house, even if you leave the door open.
• Don't burn anything in a stove or fireplace that isn't vented.
• Don't heat your house with a gas oven.