Milford Fire: Elevated Gas Levels Leads to Juniper Drive Man's Death

Fire officials are warning residents to ensure both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are installed and working properly after elevated gas levels in a Juniper Drive home led to the death of a Milford man Tuesday.

According to Capt. Gregory Carman, Milford Fire's public information officer, the department responded to a call at 7:06 p.m. on Tuesday for a possible carbon monoxide (CO) problem at 144 Juniper Drive.

High Gas Levels

Carman reports the notification came by way of the Milford Hospital emergency room, after at patient was brought in for cardiac arrest from the Juniper Drive address about an hour before. 

The patient had tested high in CO levels. 

"Firefighters entered the home with air packs to use gas meters and detected elevated levels of CO and hydrogen cyanide in both the basement and the garage, where the patient was originally found," Carman stated in a press release.

Untimely Death

He added that at this time, the exact cause of the gas emissions is undetermined and the investigation is still continuing.

"The patient has died from his condition and the Milford Police Department is investigating due to this being an untimely death," Carman stated.  

Install, Check Detectors

He added that fire officials want to "stress the importance of having both working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on all levels of your home."

"You should check them once a month and change the batteries twice a year," Carmen stated. 

And any detector that is more than 10 years old should be replaced with a new one.