Carbon monoxide death: Leak kills 1, injures others in S.F. building

A faulty water heater is suspected of causing a carbon monoxide leak that killed one resident of a Bernal Heights house early Thursday morning and injured several others, officials said.

At 4:26 a.m., the San Francisco Fire Department responded to a call at 301 Moultrie Street, near Eugenia Avenue, after a carbon monoxide detector went off in an upper unit of the building.

“There were four residents in an upper unit exhibiting symptoms of being exposed to carbon monoxide,” said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the fire department. The residents received medical treatment at the scene, and one was transported to a hospital in stable condition.

Firefighters noticed that there was a lower unit and heard a television, but they got no answer when they knocked on the door. They forced entry and found an elderly woman unconscious, Baxter said. She was given advanced life-saving treatment and transported to St. Francis Hospital, which has a hyperbaric chamber, essential for treating carbon monoxide poisoning. She was in serious condition.

Firefighters searching the lower unit also discovered an elderly man unconscious near his bed and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him, Baxter said. After 45 minutes, he was pronounced dead on the scene.

The source of the carbon monoxide leak was suspected to be a malfunctioning water heater, Baxter said. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. turned off the gas to the heater. Residents of the upper unit were able to return to their home Thursday.

Baxter urged people to check their appliances for any problems annually, especially as heaters are turned on for winter. He said people can call PG&E at (800) 743-5000 for questions on how to check appliances.