Pantagraph.com Weather forecast, local radar and more
NewsWednesday, April 2, 2008 4:50 PM CDT
Comments Comments (0) | E-mail this page E-mail this page | Print this page Print this page | Enlarge type Enlarge type | Reduce type Reduce type | Search archives Search archives | RSS RSS feeds | Add to My Yahoo! Add to My Yahoo!
Carbon monoxide deaths at ADM in Decatur ruled accidents
By Ron Ingram
ron.ingram@lee.net
Advertisement

DECATUR -- A Macon County coroner's jury ruled Tuesday that the Feb. 10 deaths of Archer Daniels Midland Co. employees Charles M. Newgard, 55, and Jeffrey S. Miller, 46, from carbon monoxide poisoning were accidents.

The two men were killed while working in the corn processing plant laboratory where Newgard was the supervisor and Miller a technician. Sixteen other employees were sickened by the odorless, colorless gas.

Coroner Michael E. Day said autopsies performed at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield determined that Newgard had a blood saturation level of 58.4 percent carbon monoxide and Miller had a saturation level of 78.7 percent. He said anything over 50 percent can be toxic and potentially lethal.

Details of Decatur Fire Department efforts to rescue the workers were recounted Tuesday for the jury by Battalion Chief Michael McGeehon, who was the command officer on the scene.

The fire department was called about 10 p.m. Feb. 10 to assist Decatur Ambulance Service personnel, with the initial call being "a person down with an unusual odor in the building," McGeehon said. Normally, an engine company and an emergency medical services company would respond, but a ladder company also was dispatched, and he went himself on the chance that an elevated rescue might be required, he said.

When firefighters arrived, ambulance service personnel were bringing two men out of the building and indicated others were inside, McGeehon said.

Firefighters organized a rescue team, and six men donned 30-minute air packs and entered the building, McGeehon said. The packs are good for about 15 minutes, he said.

The firefighters proceeded about 150 feet into the building, up a stairway and another 150 feet to the laboratory, McGeehon said. On entering the lab, their carbon monoxide monitors went off, indicating a high level of the gas, he said.

'They wanted to try again'

A sweep of the lab found no one, and firefighters returned outside.

"When our guys came out, I saw the looks on their faces and knew they wanted to try again," McGeehon said. "We changed out their air bottles, and they went back in about one minute later."

ADM employees had indicated the missing men might be in a control room next to the lab, McGeehon said. When firefighters arrived at the control room, they found one man on the floor and another sitting in a chair, but which was which he could not say, he said.

One of the men had tried to don an air pack, he said.

"When we got there, there were several men just inside the building, and we got them out," McGeehon said. "They all said they were feeling ill, and I told ADM the men needed to be sent to the hospital to be checked out. There also were two men who had walked to a nearby maintenance building who were feeling ill, and I sent a truck to check them out."

Once all employees were out of the building, firefighters cooperated with ADM employees to find out what had happened, McGeehon said. Firefighters who entered the laboratory had reported smoke being present, which concerned everyone because carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless, he said.

Because the lab and the control room were not connected, the ventilation system immediately was suspect, McGeehon said. Two firefighters went to the roof to check out that system and reported burn marks on its doors, he said.

Wiring or filter material in the ventilation unit could have caught fire, creating the smoke and carbon monoxide, he said.

Video
Most commented stories
Browse online archives
Recent issues:
Reader comments on this story - 0 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.
Add your own comments

Please read the rules before posting comments.

You must be logged in to leave comments.
If you don't have a member ID, please register.

*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login?
(requires cookies)
  Forgot Your Password?
 
Lee Enterprises Customer Service | 301 W. Washington St., PO Box 2907, Bloomington, IL 61701-2907 | Ph. 309-829-9000 | 800-747-7323
Copyright © 2008, Pantagraph Publishing Co. and Lee Enterprises. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy