Poison puts end to kids party
NEWNAN — A birthday party almost turned deadly after a carbon monoxide leak sent nine children and two adults to the hospital.
When the Sympreux family hired a video game trailer for their 8-year-old son’s event on Tuesday afternoon, they thought it was a great way for kids to have some fun in a climatecontrolled environment.
The party started at 4 p.m. when the trailer from GameTruck arrived and allowed kids a chance to play a variety of games on flat screen televisions inside.
While the children stayed inside the trailer, mother Brandy Sympreux remained in the house with those younger than 6 years old who weren’t allowed in the trailer.
About an hour and a half into the party, Brandy said the youngest child was leaving the trailer to come inside when she seemed to be staggering as soon as she stepped out of the trailer.
“One worker saw her lose her balance and caught her as she collapsed in his arms,” Sympreux said. “He rushed to our door and said she passed out. We thought it might have been heat exhaustion at first.”
The family checked the interior of the trailer to ensure it was cool and climate controlled. Brandy said the other children appeared to be fine, but things soon changed. When another child was observed staggering out of the trailer, the family knew there was a problem.
“Chaos ensued,” she recalled.
Brandy said the children began complaining of headaches, chest pain, and seemed to be semiconscious. However, the two youngest seemed to be affected the most. Both lost consciousness.
The family immediately called 911 and ordered everyone out of the trailer.
“As they left the trailer, you could see the impact the fresh oxygen had on them,” she recalled.
Members from Coweta County Fire Rescue arrived on scene and were met by a GameTruck employee who complained of headaches and said he felt shaky, according to the incident report.
Authorities began investigating the scene and found the windows on the gaming trailer were closed while the generator to the trailer was still running. Rescue personnel advised the employees to shut down the generator from the outside.
Rescue personnel immediately began treating the children who ranged in age from 6 to 11 years old. Because of the high volume of patients, Peachtree City Fire Department assisted and took two employees to Piedmont Newnan, and two children to Scottish Rite Hospital.
The other six children were taken to Egleston and Scottish Rite Hospital.
“The EMTs were extremely knowledgeable and took control of an extremely chaotic scene,” Sympreux said. “It was great to see the assistance from Peachtree City. The community as a whole were genuinely on top of it, and I appreciate seeing my tax dollars at work. It was top-notch response.” Photo courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service
A biologist holds a tri-colored bat with visible symptoms of White Nose Syndrome from Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in Fort Oglethorpe.