UTAH STATE INVESTIGATORS FROM VARIOUS AGENCIES are attempting today to learn what caused the death of a 4-yr.-old girl Saturday night after she began having severe breathing difficulties.
The incident in Layton began Friday night when a carbon monoxide detector in the family’s home started sounding and they called the fire department to investigate. CO readings throughout the house and in blood samples showed a slight elevation of CO, but not beyond safe levels. The local gas utility sent a crew to ventilate the home and check again for any gas generation. After checking all potential sources of gas leaks, including their vehicles, the gas company could find nothing amiss.
Saturday night the entire family of both parents and four children began experiencing flu-like symptoms and when the toddler began suffering breathing distress she was taken to the hospital where she died later that night.
Yesterday (Sunday) a more involved investigation began looking for the source. It has been learned that recently an exerminator had placed some rodent pellets in some burrows outdoors and the search is now focused on those possibly generating phosphine gas that somehow penetrated the house. The Utah National Guard sent out a biological-hazard monitoring team to aid in the investigation and the search is continuing today.
KSL-TV Ch. 5 filed this video report on the investigation:
The house has been sealed while this is going on and the family has been displaced. None of the neighboring homes have been evacuated however.
The Salt Lake City Tribune has MORE.
Layton Fire Department WEBSITE.
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