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.
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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.
