Pakage Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) Outdoor heater may have poisoned couple: police Police say an outdoor patio heater in a bedroom may have been the cause of two deaths in Taumarunui yesterday. David Nicholas Otimi, 43, and Bernadette Otimi, 41, were found by their children in their home in Taupo Road about 8.45am, police spokeswoman Kim Perks said. The couple - who had three children under 13 - were in a bedroom which also contained an outdoor gas heater. Post mortem examinations on the pair were carried out this morning, but the finding is going to be subject to further toxicology tests which may take some time, but at this stage the most probable cause of death is suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. Detective Senior Sergeant Keith Borrell said: "It is for the Coroner to make a formal finding once all of the medical evidence is available to him. "However early indications are that this couple have died as a result of a tragic accident. "I would like to take the opportunity to raise people awareness of the dangers of having outdoor equipment such as gas patio heaters and gas barbecues inside the home, as it may well turn out that such equipment caused this tragedy. These products are designed for outdoor use only." The deaths are not being treated as suspicious and are believed to be accidental. - NZ HERALD STAFF jesus christ. respect to the dead and all that, but what kinda retard wheels one of these: into their bedroom, sparks it up, closes the door and goes to sleep? do people still not understand that flames use oxygen to burn and that we breathe oxygen. so if you have yourself and a flame in a closed room at the same time the flame might go out, but your gonna suffocate for fucksake! life 101 innit? darwin award? Edited July 31, 2009 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzzp Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Yeah, thats a fail. Hmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Awesome Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) It's not so much that its burning oxygen, its the fact that gas heaters give off CO. You need sweet fuck all of it to make someone fall unconscious (1% ppm*), and since it's heaver than oxygen (iirc?) it'd form a nice pool at the bottom of the room, say, where your bed is. Anyway it'd poison you long before you run out of oxygen to breathe. *I can't be fucked checking wiki, but its a very small concentration. Edited July 31, 2009 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merge Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 yea haha i just saw this on the news definitely a darwin award. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonetics Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 fuck that's tragic as. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a-tech Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 darwin hrm, tragic very. Not everyone is privileged enough to read let alone be educated into the ins and outs of how oxygen and co2 work. You know how many people die of fire deaths in NZ just trying to be warm, why not put their names forward for the darwin awards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merge Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 it is definitely tragic, not laughing at the fact that they are dead, you've got to admit its an extremely stupid thing to do though. its up there with getting in a wheely bin and riding down baldwin street. you just dont do it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakage Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 It's not so much that its burning oxygen, its the fact that gas heaters give off CO. yeah, true that, your right. my bad wiki says: CO2 is toxic in higher concentrations: 1% (10,000 ppm) will make some people feel drowsy. Concentrations of 7% to 10% cause dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour. i think its like 12-15% will cause death. cant remember. saw something about it on mythbusters once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a-tech Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 @ merge those people were drunk students with the ability to receive school results that let them into university. that coupled with the fact that gravity + speed = hurt is something we learn from a very early age. Im sorry but laughing at people for dieing from trying to keep warm is pretty rough regardless of how they died. It happens far more than you imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakage Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 You know how many people die of fire deaths in NZ just trying to be warm, why not put their names forward for the darwin awards? why not. my step sister tried to dry her fake ugboots which are made of synthetic wool on top of our heater the other day. she should get an honorable mention for almost burning our house down with her retardation IMO. people need to wise up is all im really sayin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonetics Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Im sorry but laughing at people for dieing from trying to keep warm is pretty rough regardless of how they died. It happens far more than you imagine. agree i wonder if it actually says "do not use indoors" on those things?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakage Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Im sorry but laughing at people for dieing from trying to keep warm is pretty rough regardless of how they died. It happens far more than you imagine. agree i dont think anyones lolled in this thread to date to be fair. i probably was a bit harsh with my delivery and for that i do apologize. However i was just straight up blown away that this kind of thing ridiculously avoidable tragedy still occurs in this country to be honest. Anyone whose even only been educated to an intermediate school level should know not to leave open flame heating on in a closed room overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merge Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Anyone whose even only been educated to an intermediate school level should know not to leave open flame heating on in a closed room overnight. I apologise for my 'haha' at the beginning of my initial post. however, I refuse to believe anyone in nz could be that badly uninformed, especially home owners or those with children. if you've made it so far in life that you can afford a house and an outdoor patio heater then It just does not stand that you cant understand a simple safety instruction. Its tragic, but as paks says, it is COMPLETELY avoidable. like not wearing a safety belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Awesome Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 It's not so much that its burning oxygen, its the fact that gas heaters give off CO. yeah, true that, your right. my bad wiki says: CO2 is toxic in higher concentrations: 1% (10,000 ppm) will make some people feel drowsy. Concentrations of 7% to 10% cause dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour. i think its like 12-15% will cause death. cant remember. saw something about it on mythbusters once. IIRC, gas heaters will actually give off Carbon Monoxide rather than Dioxide. It's more lethal than the Dioxide. Either way its odourless and tasteless, and will knock you out before you know what's what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonetics Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Im sorry but laughing at people for dieing from trying to keep warm is pretty rough regardless of how they died. It happens far more than you imagine. agree i dont think anyones lolled in this thread to date to be fair. i probably was a bit harsh with my delivery and for that i do apologize. However i was just straight up blown away that this kind of thing ridiculously avoidable tragedy still occurs in this country to be honest. Anyone whose even only been educated to an intermediate school level should know not to leave open flame heating on in a closed room overnight. like i say, does it even say on the thing "do not use indoors"?! cause it probably should do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonetics Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Anyone whose even only been educated to an intermediate school level should know not to leave open flame heating on in a closed room overnight. I apologise for my 'haha' at the beginning of my initial post. however, I refuse to believe anyone in nz could be that badly uninformed, especially home owners or those with children. if you've made it so far in life that you can afford a house and an outdoor patio heater then It just does not stand that you cant understand a simple safety instruction. Its tragic, but as paks says, it is COMPLETELY avoidable. like not wearing a safety belt. I was at a gas station in Hastings once, and a guy on the adjacent pump was trying to ask me which pump was "91"...he was late 30's i reckon, had a wife there too and a couple of kiddies in the back. pretty unbelievable... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakage Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 I apologise for my 'haha' oh, whoops, someone did lol tisk tisk merge crap, now ive done it too.. IIRC, gas heaters will actually give off Carbon Monoxide rather than Dioxide. double on my behalf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonetics Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I apologise for my 'haha' oh, whoops, someone did lol tisk tisk merge crap, now ive done it too.. IIRC, gas heaters will actually give off Carbon Monoxide rather than Dioxide. double on my behalf. how dare ye! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Awesome Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 wait, no, it gives off mostly dioxide when it burns hotter. As there is less oxygen in the room it'll give off more monoxide which is more deadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perceptualChaos Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I wonder what the difference between one of those and one of these is... I'm sure a lot of people leave this things on overnight. I've seen at miter10 they come with a big label on the box saying only use them in a well ventilated area etc but they probably only started doing that recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelzzzz Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I wonder what the difference between one of those and one of these is... I'm sure a lot of people leave this things on overnight. I've seen at miter10 they come with a big label on the box saying only use them in a well ventilated area etc but they probably only started doing that recently. been on there for a while. and yes those outdoor patio heaters do have warning labels saying they are for outdoor use only. and its for the same reason you don't use your gas cooker in your tent. I'm replying to this and realising that this thread is pretty old now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I wonder what the difference between one of those and one of these is... I'm sure a lot of people leave this things on overnight. I've seen at miter10 they come with a big label on the box saying only use them in a well ventilated area etc but they probably only started doing that recently. recently passed out in front of TV/gas heater... came to around two am having fallen off the couch and had jeans so hot I was dangerously close to catching on fire. also got up to try to go around the heater and body slammed onto the floor narrowly missing the heater. managed to turn off gas and crawl out into the hall where cool fresh air revived me enough to go outside and come around. a definate "wake up call" not to leave the heater cranking for too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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