Generators Poison Thousands Each Year, but the U.S. Has Failed to Force Safety Changes

Portable generators, which emit carbon monoxide, are among the deadliest consumer products. Two decades after the government identified the danger, people are left vulnerable by a system that lets the industry regulate itself

Portable generators sit in the back of a pickup truck at a gas station on August 31, 2021 in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. Tropical Storm Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday in Louisiana and brought flooding and wind damage along the Gulf Coast.
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Three days after Hurricane Ida slammed ashore on Aug. 29, leveling homes and knocking out power along the Louisiana coast, Craig Curley Sr. maneuvered through a packed crowd at Home Depot to reach the aisle with portable generators.

According to a report by NBC News, Curley, 50, snagged one of the last units in stock, a 6,250-watt Briggs & Stratton, and drove it to the home of his ex-wife, Demetrice Johnson, where he installed it in her back yard.

He tried one last time to persuade Johnson, 54, to take their children to stay with relatives in Houston as officials warned that it might take weeks to restore power across the region. But she was adamant: With a generator to power her appliances, she felt safe staying. 

By the next morning, his ex-wife and their two children were dead, poisoned by carbon monoxide that fire officials said probably flowed from the generator’s exhaust and into the home through the back door. 

Portable generators can save lives after major storms by powering medical equipment, heaters and refrigerators when the grid collapses. But desperate residents who rely on the machines to keep their families safe sometimes end up poisoning them, instead.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here.

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