THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 14, 1994 TAG: 9412140470
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
A gas furnace at the house where a family of four was found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning Monday had been shut off and declared in need of repair 20 months ago.
Virginia Natural Gas ``red-tagged'' the furnace and another appliance, a gas-fueled water heater, in the home at 208 W. 30th St. on March 11, 1993, said Donald A. Fickenscher, vice president of Virginia Natural Gas Inc.
``This is a tragedy that should not have happened,'' Fickenscher said Tuesday. ``It is the responsibility of the person who owns or maintains the appliances, particularly after they are `red-tagged,' to see that the problem is corrected and the appliances are made safe. We have no way of knowing if that was done.
``We `red-tagged' two of the appliances, indicating they were defective,'' he said.
Both appliances had ``back-draft'' problems, Fickenscher said, indicating an exhaust blockage probably prevented them from efficiently removing all carbon monoxide fumes.
The clues that such problems exist are the odor of gas and a soot buildup in the area of the furnace exhaust, he said.
When an appliance is ``red-tagged,'' he said, the gas valve leading to it is shut off. But the valve can easily be turned on again by anyone, whether the appliance has been repaired or not.
Even if the problem was corrected after the ``red-tagging'' 20 months ago, the solution must have been temporary, Fickenscher said. Firefighters on Monday reported soot buildup in the area near the furnace, and family members reported the smell of gas, especially in the days immediately before Monday's tragedy.
``Soot and the smell of gas are obvious tip-offs that there is some sort of problem with the burning appliance,'' Fickenscher said. ``Had the gas company been called about the smell of gas by anyone, we would have inspected it and `red-tagged' it again,'' he said.
The victims were found shortly after 4 p.m. Monday by 17-year-old Mashauna Dempsey, who lived at the two-story frame home but had been away for the weekend. She and a friend found the bodies of her mother, stepfather and two half-siblings on the second floor.
Police identified them as Julia Dempsey, 38; Dempsey's fiance, William E. Staton, 41; Lakisha Dempsey, the 15-year-old daughter of Julia Dempsey; and William E. Dempsey, the couple's 5-year-old son.
Three were found in bedrooms. The 5-year-old was found in a hallway.
Investigators determined that bricks and soot had blocked the chimney that was the exhaust system for the furnace. The blockage was complete enough that carbon monoxide levels were said to be at five times the survivable level when firefighters tried to enter the house.
Larry Hill, spokesman for the Norfolk Police Department, said the bodies may have been in the house since Saturday evening, the last day the family was seen alive. Autopsies will have to be completed before a time of death can be determined, Hill said.
The Virginia Natural Gas official, Fickenscher, said Staton's signature is believed to be on the form that accompanied the ``red-tagging,'' indicating that he was at the residence when the appliance inspections were done.
Ed Palaszewski of the Norfolk Fire Marshal's office said an investigation is under way to determine whether any code violations were associated with the carbon monoxide accident. So far, he said, there is no indication that the tenants made any alterations in the heating system that would make them responsible for the exhaust problems.
Otherwise, he said ``it is the owner's responsibility to make sure the building is safe at all times.''
The building's owner is listed on real estate records as Suzanne J. Marshall of the 1400 block of Watersedge Drive in Virginia Beach. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Marshall is listed as owner, or co-owner with Dale W. Marshall, of four other properties in the same neighborhood of Norfolk. One is at 213 W. 30th St., directly across the street from the residence where the carbon monoxide deaths occurred.
All the properties are at least 74 years old. The residence at 208 30th St. was built in 1905.
Marshall also is listed as owner or co-owner with Dale Marshall of five other Norfolk properties: two on Reservoir Avenue, two on Bolton Street and one on Pleasant Avenue in Ocean View.
Mike Babashanian, chief of inspections for Norfolk, said the city has no computer record of an inspection being conducted at, or a complaint being filed against, the residence at 208 30th St. The computer records, Babashanian said, go back only 10 years. He declined to comment on whether there were code violations at other properties owned by the Marshalls.
Mashauna Dempsey said Monday that complaints her mother made about the smell of gas in the house were never answered by the landlord. She said her mother had been complaining about the smell of gas since at least last summer.
Other family members said on Tuesday that the family had complained for months about a faulty furnace in the house that did not keep the residence warm. MEMO: Related story on page B2.
APPLIANCES HAD BEEN "RED-TAGGED"
20 months ago, Virginia Natural Gas ``red-tagged'' as defective the
home's gas furnace and a gas-fueled water heater.
Both appliances had ``back-draft'' problems, indicating their
exhausts were blocked and weren't removing carbon monoxide fumes
efficiently.
The appliances' gas valves were shut off. But the valves could have
been turned on again by anyone, with or without repairs.
SOURCE: Virginia Natural Gas executive
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
208 W. 30th St., Norfolk
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT GENERAL CARBON MONOXIDE FATALITY RENTAL
PROPERTY by CNB