Investigators Find No Battery In Carbon Monoxide Detector After Sacramento Man Dies
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A North Sacramento community is shaken after one of their neighbors died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. Investigators announced Thursday the carbon monoxide detector inside of the 62-year-old's apartment didn't have a battery.
"He was good man," said Brandy Barrios, the victim's daughter. "He was goofy. He loved me. Everybody knew that."
Neighbor Eric Scott said he saw the victim, Angel Barrios, on Wednesday morning. But later that night, Barrios didn't respond after several knocks on his door.
PG&E was called to the Lampasas Avenue apartment complex Wednesday afternoon. Neighbor Eric Scott says he had heard an alarm going off upstairs, a few hours earlier and the night before.
"PG&E was out there to check an appliance at a different unit and found elevated levels of carbon monoxide in that unit," said Keith Wade, a spokesperson for the Sacramento Fire Department.
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A PG&E employee shut off the gas to entire complex and evacuated the building. No one responded at Barrios' downstairs apartment.
"The air conditioning unit, we got it out, looked [inside] and he was laying on the floor dead!" Scott said.
The fire department got the 911 call at 5:45pm. When first responders arrived, they declared Barrios dead. After investigating, firefighters found the carbon monoxide detector inside of his apartment with no battery installed.
"I want to know who took it out," Barrios said. "They said my dad took it out, but ain't no tellin'."
Sacramento Fire says you should be aware of carbon monoxide risks in the winter months when you're using heaters.
"It's odorless, tasteless, it's invisible and it can kill," Wade said.
His advice:
(1) Lookout for symptoms of CO poisoning like headaches and nausea
(2) don't use the oven or stone to heat your home
(3) make sure you have a working CO detector on every level of the house.
Barrios told CBS13 she hadn't spoken to her father in two weeks.
"Just check on them more than I did," she said. "I wish my dad would have answered the phone the night before but he didn't."
Her warning for families: take the time to check all of your appliances before tragedy hits home.
"I didn't grow up with him, but I am grateful for the last 4 years I did have with my dad," she said. "I just hope he's in a better place."
If you have any gas appliances in your home, check your carbon monoxide detectors and make sure they're in operating condition.
