THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 15, 1994 TAG: 9412150423
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
Virginia Natural Gas says:
Inspectors had ``red-tagged'' the home's furnace as defective. About 10 years ago, Norfolk asked to be notified only when inspectors found gas furnaces with cracked heat exchangers.
Norfolk says:
If Virginia Natural Gas had turned off the home's gas, the city could have declared the house unfit for habitation and padlocked it because it would have had no heat or hot water.
Municipal officials told Virginia Natural Gas more than a decade ago not to notify the city about some ``red-tag'' warnings, abandoning a policy that could have prevented the carbon monoxide deaths of four persons, a company spokesman said Wednesday.
Ed Ware, director of public affairs for Virginia Natural Gas, said the city asked to be told only when gas company inspectors found gas furnaces with cracked heat exchangers.
Before the city made its request - between 10 and 12 years ago - the utility supplied reports of all ``red-tag'' inspections, including those that uncovered faulty furnace exhausts like the one that caused a back-up of carbon monoxide at a rented, two-story house at 208 W. 30th St., Ware said.
``We were complying with their information request,'' he explained.
Sherman Edmondson, Norfolk's assistant director for codes administration, angrily disagreed Wednesday that the city should accept blame for the tragedy.
Edmondson suggested that the deaths could have been averted if the gas company had stopped service to the home.
``If Virginia National Gas had turned off the gas,'' Edmondson said, ``the building would have been unfit for human habitation. No heat and no hot water. Then we could have padlocked the building.''
On March 11, 1993, the gas company ``red-tagged'' the home's gas furnace, warning residents that the heating system needed to be repaired before it was used again. Although the utility turned off a valve through which gas flowed to the furnace, it did not shut off gas service to the dwelling.
Someone apparently turned the valve on again and started using the furnace. Officials said they found the furnace's chimney blocked by a buildup of fallen bricks and soot, causing the back-up of the deadly, odorless gas.
Julia Dempsey, 38, was found dead late Monday afternoon on the second floor of the residence along with two of her children, Lakisha Dempsey, 15, and William E. Dempsey, 5. William Staton, Dempsey's 41-year-old fiance and the father of William Dempsey, also was found dead.
Three of the bodies were found on or near beds. The 5-year-old boy was found in a hallway.
The bodies were found by another of Dempsey's children, 17-year-old Mashuana, who had returned home Monday afternoon after spending the weekend at another residence. Police believe the family may have died as early as Saturday, the last day they were seen alive.
Edmondson said Wednesday that city building inspectors tried several times in March to get into Julia Dempsey's home to inspect the installation of a new water heater. Each time, she said, no one came to the door.
Edmondson said the city is notified whenever work is required under a building permit, such as the installation of a new water heater. The gas company's red-tag warning had nothing to do with a building permit.
Meanwhile, a city councilman on Wednesday said the city needs to revamp its method of building code enforcement to ensure that Monday's carbon monoxide tragedy is not repeated.
Herbert Collins, who represents much of central Norfolk and parts of 30th Street where Monday's accident occurred, promised to introduce an ordinance that would attack the problem.
``We have to have some kind of code enforcement that won't tolerate those things happening,'' Collins said. ``There is just not enough code enforcement at a lot of this rental property.''
Edmondson said her staff has developed a new plan. She declined to go into detail until the council is briefed.
Family members said following the tragedy that Julia Dempsey had repeatedly complained to the landlord about the furnace. The building's owner, Suzanne Marshall, of Virginia Beach, could not be reached for comment Wedensday.
Fire investigators are continuing their investigation. MEMO: TIPS FOR PREVENTING CARBON MONOXIDE CASES\ Have fuel-burning equipment
installed by a qualified technician. < Have a certified technician
adjust all fuel-burning appliances for correct fuel/air mixture,
sufficient ventilation of combustion gases and sufficient fresh-air
intake.
Check each appliance yearly.
Never burn charcoal inside the house or garage, whether in a grill,
hibachi or fireplace, for cooking or heating.
Don't use your gas range oven to warm a room.
Don't use a stove or fireplace that is not properly vented.
Don't run an auto engine, lawn mower or any combustion engine in a
closed garage.
Don't burn anything in a stove or fireplace that is not properly
vented.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT GENERAL CARBON MONOXIDE by CNB