CO poisoning leaves one dead at UVM A bad pipe causes a fatal leak in apartment

Author: Polly Johnson

A Jan. 30 carbon monoxide leak in an apartment complex housing a number of University of Vermont (UVM) students has left one dead and six others injured. The Redstone Apartments at 500 S. Prospect St., in close proximity to the university, houses 200 residents, most of whom are UVM students. Building number three at the 11-building complex was the source of the leak, which erupted the night before the incident actually occurred. Carbon monoxide began to back up in the building after the gas-fired, hot-water boiler backfired and blew out a section of the ventilation pipe.

The causes of the boiler malfunction are still unknown and are currently under investigation. The apartment complex did not have any carbon monoxide detectors. Vermont law does not require them.

Jeffrey Rodliff, 23, of St. Johnsbury, died as a result of the leak. He was not a student, but was visiting the apartment building. Six others were affected and once medical assistance arrived at the scene, all were rushed to the Fletcher Allen Hospital in Burlington. All had to be transferred to other hospitals in Boston, Montreal and Syracuse because the facilities in Burlington did not offer the specialized oxygen treatment that was needed.

John Novarr, managing partner of Prospect Venture LLC, the company that owns the apartment complex, remarked to the Burlington Free Press in a phone interview that he "doesn't understand why it happened or what the cause of it was, but the only thing in the building that makes carbon monoxide is the boiler." He traveled to Burlington immediately following the incident to investigate.

UVM President Dan Fogel, in a statement released following the tragedy, said, "We will communicate with the property owner today and make clear our expectation that our students should not return to their apartments until every mechanical system in every building has been thoroughly and professionally inspected, and carbon monoxide detectors have been installed throughout the Redstone Apartment buildings."

Since the incident, it has been revealed that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission confirmed that the P lexvent plastic vent piping installed in the Redstone Apartments was included in its 1998 recall of around 250,000 pipe systems that were prone to cracking or separating causing carbon monoxide leakage. The pipe that broke in the building was found to have separated from an elbow joint. Novarr says that he was never notified of any such recall.

Since the incident, UVM has stepped up housing safety and its efforts to ensure that all residences are inspected and safe. This week, carbon monoxide detectors were installed in all student residences on campus and all the furnaces in the Redstone Apartments were replaced. In a campus wide e-mail, Fogel wrote that he intends to "ensure the UVM family that the safety of our students is our highest priority."

On Monday, Feb. 7, the Burlington City Council, after much prompting from Governor Jim Douglas '72 and Mayor Peter Clavelle, voted on whether or not to make it mandatory for carbon monoxide detectors to be installed in all Burlington residences.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas that is produced by the incomplete combustion of some fuels. It can have extremely harmful or fatal effects, even at low exposures. It can cause headaches, nausea and fatigue, unconsciousness, coma and death. Each year, carbon monoxide poisoning accounts for 200 deaths nationwide. Thousands more are sent to the hospital annually from poisoning. There are many ways to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, including installing a carbon monoxide detector, which is cheap and reliable. The detectors are similar to smoke detectors and sound an alarm when carbon monoxide is detected in the air. A certified technician should also regularly check appliances.

UVM students who live at the Redstone Apartments were able to begin moving back in on Friday evening - they had been staying at the Sheraton Hotel since the incident. Novarr confirmed that all heating systems had been replaced and the Burlington Fire Department confirmed that the apartments are safe.

UVM officials, with the assistance of the Burlington Fire Department, responded quickly and efficiently to the incident. Precautions are being taken to prevent a repeat of this incident. As Novarr noted in the wake of the tragic event, "There's no price on the life of a student."