A silent killer took S.I. family of 3 while they slept BY NANCY DILLON, AUSTIN FENNER and DAVE GOLDINER, New York Daily News
Shoddy work blamed for filling home with deadly carbon monoxide
Firefighters said workers installing a concrete deck blocked exhaust vents for the boiler with plastic sheeting, sending poison gas spewing through the home on Ocean Ave. in South Beach.
Investigators were hunting last night for the contractor who did the shoddy work, said Chief Fire Marshal Louis Garcia.
The deadly gas spiked to a frightening 70 times acceptable levels in the second-floor room where the victims were found.
"At those numbers, a few breaths and you could be unconscious," said Chief Thomas Haring, the FDNY's borough commander for Staten Island. "Carbon monoxide is silent, but it is deadly."
A new city law requiring carbon monoxide detectors in every home goes into effect on Nov. 1.