The two people found dead in a home in Dartmouth Friday morning died of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed.
Halifax Regional Police (HRP) were called to a home in a duplex shortly after 8:30 a.m. to help EHS with a medical emergency. They found a man and woman, believed to be in their 50s, dead inside the home.
Police say the duplex was evacuated as a precaution.
In a release sent out Friday evening, HRP said in a release the Medical Examiner’s Office had provided results of an autopsy that confirmed the deaths as accidental due to CO poisoning. Police said their investigation into the matter has concluded.
Deputy fire chief Roy Hollett with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency said the deaths of the homeowners is a reminder of why it’s important to have a carbon monoxide detector in the home.
He said the fire department was called to assist with the investigation and test the atmosphere in the residence, which showed a result of 300 parts per million of CO in the home, which he said can cause a severe headache. Hollett said while inside, they turned off an oil furnace and ventilated the building.
Two hundred parts per million in the air can cause headaches. Nausea can occur in conditions of 400 parts per million, while 800 to 1,600 parts develops from headache to an “altered state consciousness” to unconsciousness within 45 minutes, Hollett said.
“You hear it said that carbon monoxide is the silent killer, and it’s true. You can’t smell it, you can’t see it, you can’t even taste it in the air,” he told The Canadian Press during a telephone interview.
“The reason it’s so deadly is, it attaches to the hemoglobin in the blood more easily than oxygen. Carbon monoxide will … overcome you and you will gradually become unconscious.”
Hollett said it is still unclear if exposure to the gas occurred in a short burst or a gradual buildup overnight.
– With files from the Canadian Press