Heat Treatments

 

Heat treatments are an effective way to eliminate bed bugs quickly, but
tend to be more costly than conventional toxic treatment methods.

 

Some pest control firms utilize specialized heating equipment to de-infest furnishings, rooms, and entire dwellings. The procedure involves heating up the infested item or area to temperatures lethal to bed bugs. Portable heaters and fans are used to gradually heat the air to about 120 – 130°F while monitoring with strategically placed sensors. By carefully controlling the temperature, bugs and eggs are killed wherever they may be without damaging household items.

Some preparation is still required (e.g. removal of heat-sensitive items such as aerosol cans, indoor plants and medications), but it is seldom necessary to bag, launder and/or hot dry bedding and clothing since these items will be heated along with other furnishings. Another advantage of heat treatment is that infestations can often be eliminated in one day, rather than over multiple days or weeks. Conversely, heat treatment alone has no lasting (residual) effect should bed bugs be reintroduced into the dwelling. Consequently, some companies recommend concurrently applying residual insecticides. [Poison again?] To further minimize reintroduction, occupants are advised to take as few belongings as possible with them while the heat treatment is in progress.

Heat treatments require specialized training and equipment, and may be more costly than conventional approaches relying principally on insecticides.

 

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To JulesNoise

When I was maintaining my traps, one of my sisters (the one that is going to do it too) told us that her father-in-law, who owns houses and apartments told her how to get rid of bed bugs, she said: Mr R_____  (private information) told me that when one of the houses gets infested with bed bugs (which happens to him often as renters come and go), he rents heaters from Home Depot and heats up the house for four hours. He says it kills eggs to and any other insects, but he said that you have to put away make up, and other things that melt” I responded that I was not interested, that my traps were doing the job and then we left the subject, until when my husband found those bugs again, and he looked at the same procedure my sister had told us about in your website.

He called Mr R_____ and asked for more info last week and he told him where he got them and a brief explanation on how to use them.

Right now when I got your email after calling my husband, I called Mr R_____. He was out of town at that moment but was willing to answer my questions. He said that he heated the place to 170F which in my opinion is too much, for four hours. He said that the eggs exploded right before his eyes. He said that, we’re suppose to heat up the house and leave it for four hours, just going to check the thermostats every now and then to make sure it is hot… He said that by no means we’re supposed to be inside for more than 5 minutes.

When my husband got this idea on his head, he told me to ask you and I did, but since you did not respond, he called this Mr R_____ guy and got his opinion, instructions and success rate from him, he feels pretty confident I guess, I have more peace now, I would not do it if it was all up to me, I would just start with my traps in the couches with plastic this time… 

I don’t want you to think it was your website that caused my husband wanting to do the treatment, he has researched it online a lot an according to his findings it is the most effective treatment and also most expensive $2000 for my small house.

I don’t want you to worry please; the guy from the store that helped me over the phone asked me if the heaters were for bedbugs, so I am assuming we are not the only ones renting heaters from them for bedbugs. Regular people like most of us here don’t have access to pay a lot of money for either fumigation with poison or the heat treatment from a professional company and 99.9% do not know about our traps.

I really would love for you to be here with my husband when he is doing it, but I think is better if you just wait for my call to tell you everything went well, I have faith it will.. I am praying to my God the only true God that if is not convenient for us to do it, to put an obstacle tomorrow when my husband goes to the store to rent the heaters.

Please don’t blame yourself for this, we heard about it way before we saw it on the website, from somebody that did it and does it all the time, and he is a regular guy just like you and me

Let me know your thoughts.

Your friend and teammate that is in God’s hands

C________  (private information)

 

 

Mr R____ is an honest gentleman who found a way to get rid of bedbugs using one of the best bedbug killers. Heat really does kill bedbugs and is the fastest way to do it. It is a well known fact and pest management companies uses it claiming to be the only ones having the knowledge to do it. They charge exhorbitant prices to do something that simple honest citizens can do by themselves.

Unfortunately, Mr R_____ is playing with fire, with his life and the life of others. Unlike pest management companies who use electricity to produce heat, he uses propane heaters fueled by 20 pounds white propane tanks which are put next to the propane heater inside the apartment subjected to temperatures of up to 170F and without any evacuation of the gases.

Propane tanks have an upper safety limit of 120f. The hotter they get the more pressure there is inside and the greater the possibility of a propane leak at the valve which will catch on fire because there is a flame nearby. That will heat up the propane tank even more and will result in a BLEVE, a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion. Have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM0jtD_OWLU to see one or simply search BLEVE on Google. On that video you will see what happens to a propane tank with a leak that catches fire. It is the same thing for a smaller one.

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That is only one of the dangers, the other one being the propane heaters themselves making carbon monoxide which is not evacuated to the outside and become highly poisonous in an enclosed space. Anybody who gets caught in them have an extreme risk of dying as there will be no possibility that someone else will be able to help them. Any rescuer will also risk his own life. Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer and is a well known way to commit suicide. There are numerous cases of deaths due to propane heaters accidental or not.

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For those who do not understand the risks of carbon monoxide, here is something to watch: __  http://www.jerryhunt.org/kill.htm __ How to Kill Yourself Using the Inhalation of Carbon Monoxide _ by Jerry Hunt (1943-1993).

Now as I said above, handling dangerous products is not a problem if you know what you are doing and if precautions are taken to avoid accidents from happening. If heating a propane tank is a risk, then just do not heat it by putting it outside by the means of an extension hose and there will be no danger. Even if the additional hose leaks, it will not heat up the propane tank and will not cause an explosion. Any fire that a leak could start or not can be taken care of with a simple fire extinguisher as long as you can get inside to house to put it out. In such a case, the danger would come from the carbon monoxide filling the house. One might not be able to be in the house long enough to put out the fire and breathe the dangerous fumes from the propane heaters

If breathing carbon monoxide is a danger, then just don’t breathe it and wear a mask which will filter out the dangerous Co (carbon monoxide). It is simple common sense. It is the same common sense that we all use when we drive a car, we simply do not drive into incoming vehicles and everybody is safe even if we are often inches away from a collision. There are millions of safe drivers on the road, including yourself. There are such masks and they are used around the world in compliance with proper safety measures. They should and you must insist that they are approved by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) which is the main Federal Agency charged with the enforcement of Safety and Health Legislation. __ http://www.osha.gov/

I am not blaming Mr R____, I believe he is of good faith and only wants to make sure that the apartments he rents are free of bedbugs, and they are when he uses his heat treatment technique. The only things he is missing are the warnings and instructions which have been removed from the heaters and the proper safety equipments that the rental companies should provide by Law. In the event of an accident they can be taken to Court for not providing the proper safety equipments, warnings and instructions. The Coleman Company have been facing repeated Lawsuits since 2000 in terms of tens of millions of dollars for such negligence and the rental companies are equally liable for renting defective equipment. To avoid that and the risk to their customers, all that they need is an extension hose for the propane tanks, an OSHA approved Carbon Monoxide mask and a proper bedbug heat treatment procedure. Customers should insist that the Rental Companies provide it when they rent propane heaters for the purpose of eliminating bedbug with a heat treatment. They know about it if they ask: “Is it for bedbugs?”

A heat treatment really is the fastest way to kill bedbugs and can be done safely even with propane heaters if the necessary precautions are taken. A heat treatment can easily be done by someone who is responsible and knowledgeable. It is especially useful for Landlords who can evaluate the risks and liabilities and do it in a safe way. Remember that insurances will not cover a fire caused by propane heaters used indoor and that the one who uses propane heaters inside a building is liable to any damage to occupants or neighbors, including wrongful death.

I strongly advise tenants against doing a heat treatment without the permission on the landlord and those  who would try it should be evicted on the spot for trying it on someone else’s property. The landlord is the only one who can do a heat treatment on his own building. The same thing applies to owners of the houses, by Law you can do whatever you want to your own property but not to someone else’s. You can proceed to any project that you want on your own house but not someone else’s, including the neighbors.

 

 

A heat treatment well done will get rid of all bedbugs in a single day

____ Here is the full procedure:

___ Fans to circulate the air

One in every room during the procedure to blow hot air in hard to get places like closets or corners where the temperature might rise too slowly. The fans will be needed at the end of the procedure to blow the fumes from the propane heaters out of the house. It is best to get oscillating stand fan, 16 inches or more as you want to create strong air turbulence during the procedure and also a strong draft when evacuating the fumes.

___ Propane heaters

There should be one for every room except for the closets and the bathroom where fans will be used to push hot air into them. The heaters should be placed approximately in the center of the room, more towards the outside walls which will be slower to heat up. There must be a space between the heaters and any other objet to prevent flammable material to catch on fire. This goes without saying but I prefer to say it as a safety precaution.

___ Thermometers that can read temperatures up to 200F

They do not have to be precise, +/- 5% is okay as the temperature can vary by 15 degree and still do the job. So the cheapest thermometers will do and you might be able to get those at a hardware store.

 You will need at least two thermometers in every room. They should be placed on the outside wall, one on the top to check the temperature of the ceiling and the other at the bottom to check the temperature near the floor. It is the one near the floor that matters and the temperature can be allowed to go up to 150F but must not go below 120F.

Additional thermometers will be needed to check the temperature inside closets and furniture, especially in couches and in the beds which are the bedbug’s favorite places. Those should be put under the cushions and underneath the mattresses and easy to access. The temperature inside the couch and inside the bed must not go below 120F for at least one hour.

The temperature must rise as fast as possible to kill bedbugs before they can scatter and escape to adjacent apartment or to the neighborhood. Use high capacity propane heaters (30 000 -50 000 BTU)  and start them all at once on maximum. 

Check the temperature as often as needed to reach 120F at the floor first (the temperature at which bedbugs die is 113F) and set the fans to blow hot air towards the outside walls at the beginning. Once the temperature has reached 135F you can start turning down the propane heaters to keep it around that level. The temperature can vary by plus or minus 15F without going under 120F for two hours. Bedbugs die within minutes at 113F but the extra time is needed for the heat to go into the walls and kill any bedbug that might be inside of them.

Never stay more than 10 minutes inside the house/apartment and have plenty of liquid at hand (no alcoholic beverages) to avoid dehydration.

___ Extension hoses for the propane tanks

Propane tanks are designed to be used at an average of 70F (40F to 100F) with an upper limit of 120F. The higher the temperature, the more pressure inside the tank and the more risk of leakage from the valve and eventually starting a fire if there is a flame nearby. So, for a bedbug heat treatment it is a must to keep the tanks outside and supply the propane heaters with an extension hose supplied by the Rental Company.

___ Two large Co2 fire extinguisher

Absolutely required as you will not have the time to look for anything else in case of fire.

___ Cellular phone with batteries fully charged

Used only for short messages or emergency.

___ House or apartment?

Think about the neighbors. In both cases, you can evacuate fumes regularly to keep fumes levels down but for an adjacent apartment make sure that they will not be incommodated by fumes that might leak into their place. By evacuating fumes you will lose some heat but only a little as the walls and everything inside will stay hot even if you let air and fumes out. It is like an oven, you can open the door and the oven stays hot and as soon as you close the door the temperature will go right back up.

___ Alone or with somebody else?

Never attempt a heat treatment all by yourself. You will want someone with you to pull you out of a fall or an accident. If your mask is knocked off while you are inside, you will die if there is no one to help you out. If that person does not wear a breathing mask, he might also die.

___ OSHA approvedCarbon Monoxide Breathing Mask

All of the above should not even be started if you have not thoroughly tested and familiarized yourself with the Carbon Monoxide Breathing Mask. It should be supplied by the Rental Company and if they don’t, give them hell and threaten them with lawsuits and enough problems to shut down their irresponsible operations. Denounce them to the authorities for renting defective equipments that have improper warnings, instructions and safety measures about using lethal propane heaters for indoor use.

These Rental Companies can do a lot of business and profit greatly by offering safe equipment to fight and eliminate bedbugs using propane heaters to do heat treatment. But it has to be safe and in full knowledge of the risks involved, both for their customers and themselves. It is perfectly legal and a great service to the people to offer a mean to eliminate bedbugs but it must absolutely be safe. We want to kill the bedbugs, not the customers. A OSHA approvedCarbon Monoxide Breathing Mask is the first thing to get and do not rent propane heaters if they do not supply the breathing masks along with them.

Note: An alternative to OSHA approvedCarbon Monoxide Breathing Mask are scuba diving masks with an oxygen tank. Again the same safety precaution applies and scuba diving masks have to be tried on and thoroughly verified even before starting the heat treatment procedure.

Carbon Monoxide Masks save lives

Used and recommended for Governmental organizations, rescue unites, chemical and petro plants, office buildings, apartments blocks and any place where escape of smoke / chemical contamination might take more than five seconds.

After having maintained the temperature inside the apartment/house at a minimum of 120F for two hours, turn off the propane heaters, open the windows and doors, set up the fans to evacuate the fumes to the outside, air in through the doors and out through the windows and let them run for at least half an hour to clear out any fumes that might be left in the house while ventilating the couches, mattresses, clothes, closets and any enclosed spaces with the fans, gradually cooling down the place

Once you are satisfied that the place is cleared of all residual fumes (carbon monoxide), gather the thermometers, cooled off propane heaters, disconnect the extension hoses, the shut off propane tanks, the fire extinguishers and of course the life saving gas masks and return them to the Rental Company.

Tell them thank you and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.

The place is now free of all and any bedbug.

 

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__________________Additional information__________________

 

Toxicity Carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning is the most common type of fatal air poisoning in many countries.

Carbon monoxide is colourless, odorless, and tasteless, but highly toxic. It combines with hemoglobin to producecarboxyhemoglobin, which is ineffective for delivering oxygen to bodily tissues.

Concentrations as low as 667ppm may cause up to 50% of the body’s hemoglobin to convert to carboxyhemoglobin. A level of 50% carboxyhemoglobin may result in seizure, coma, and fatality. In the United States, the OSHA limits long-term workplace exposure levels above 50 ppm. Within short time scales, carbon monoxide absorption is cumulative, since the half-life is about 5 h in fresh air.

The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may resemble other types of poisonings and infections, including symptoms such as headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, and a feeling of weakness. Affected families often believe they are victims of food poisoning. Infants may be irritable and feed poorly. Neurological signs include confusion, disorientation, visual disturbance, syncope and seizures.

Some descriptions of carbon monoxide poisoning include retinal hemorrhages, and an abnormal cherry-red blood hue. In most clinical diagnoses these signs are seldom noticed. One difficulty with the usefulness of this cherry-red effect is that it corrects, or masks, what would otherwise be an unhealthy appearance, since the chief effect of removing deoxygenated hemoglobin is to make an asphyxiated person appear more normal, or a dead person appear more lifelike, similar to the effect of red colorants in embalming fluid. The “false” or unphysiologic red-coloring effect in anoxic CO-poisoned tissue is related to the meat-coloring commercial use of carbon monoxide, discussed below.

Carbon monoxide binds to other molecules such as myoglobin and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase. Exposures to carbon monoxide may cause significant damage to the heart and central nervous system, especially to the globus pallidus, often with long-term sequelae. Carbon monoxide may have severe adverse effects on the foetus of a pregnant woman.

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http://www.carbonmonoxidedeaths.com/

Carbon Monoxide Deaths and Injuries from Propane Heaters

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a silent killer that is attacking, injuring and killing innocent people while using propane heaters and lanterns. A significant number of deaths and injuries have been reported involving campers, hunters and ice fisherman who have used portable radiant heaters in tents, campers, ice fishing houses, or other enclosed spaces. Since the early 1990’s, at least 80 deaths and several serious injuries are known to have resulted from the propane radiant heaters. The heaters are deceptively innocent in appearance. The average user, without a clear understanding of CO and its risks, would not understand that using the heater in an enclosed space creates such a serious risk of injury and death. Experts who have analyzed the warnings and instructions attached to, and accompanying the propane heater are of the opinion that they do not provide to the user necessary safety information regarding the extent and nature of the hazards involved in heater use.

Mechanism of Injury and Death

A hunter, camper or ice fisherman may retire for the evening inside a tent, camper or ice fishing house, for several hours and utilize a propane radiant heater for warmth. The innocent looking radiant heater, when lit, will have a bright orange ball or globe, sometime less than 2inches in diameter, which radiates the heat outward from a metal reflector. Two events start happening: first, the heater consumes the oxygen in the air, and second, CO is generated. Without adequate ventilation in the enclosure, this becomes a deadly combination within a few hours of heater use. Co is a colorless, odorless gas that replaces the oxygen within the human blood. With the oxygen levels declining during heater operation, the carbon monoxide readily permeates the blood supply in the body. As the CO levels increases, the victim experiences dizziness, confusion, loss of consciousness, and eventually death.

Identifying the dangerous Propane Heaters

Since the early 1990’s dozens of deaths and injuries have resulted from the use of propane radiant heaters. Some of the heaters are small and compact and attach to one pound disposable propane tanks. These heaters generally produce less than 5,000 BTUs of heat. Larger BTU heaters models screw onto bulk mount propane tanks, usually 20 pounds white tanks commonly used with barbeque grills. These heaters will produce 10,000 to 45,000 BTUs of heat. All of these heaters produce carbon monoxide to varying degrees. The heaters do not look dangerous and do not look life threatening. Unless they are equipped with safety devices and specifically identified for indoor use, the heaters should only be used out of doors. Most of the heaters do not mention the carbon monoxide hazard in the warning accompanying the heaters. This leads people to believe that the heaters can be used indoors. In many instances, instructions and warnings and package inserts describing safety use have long ago been discarded. Users of heaters will be left with little or no information regarding the hazards of heater use

Further Consumer information

1. A thorough discussion of Carbon Monoxide is provided by David G. Penney, Ph.d. of Wayne State University
2. Information about the safe use of portable radiant heaters can be found at: Portable Radiant Heater Safety News Bureau, P.O. Box 45002-0002, Cleveland , Ohio 44415, or call toll-free 1-888-CAMPHTR (22-7487)
3. Coalition for Portable Propane Product Safety.

Product Liability Lawsuits

Numerous lawsuits have been brought for deaths and injuries because of by carbon monoxide from propane radiant heaters manufactured by the Coleman Company. The claims are that Coleman heaters are defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous to users. Further allegations have been made that the heaters and their packaging contain inadequate instructions and warnings of the hazards involved in propane heater use. Most of the claims and lawsuits for wrongful death or injury from carbon monoxide poisoning have been settled. In December of 19999, the first wrongful death against Coleman was tried to a conclusion before a jury in Eugene, Oregon. The Eugene jury found that that a Coleman manufactured Focus 15 propane radiant heater was defective and negligently designed and unreasonably dangerous for use by consumers. The jury returned a wrongful death verdict for the children of the deceased in the sum of $769,000.

What is being done

Starting in 2000, Mr Heater Corporation began selling a camping heater equipped with a an Oxygen Depletion Sensor (ODS). Since then, several other manufacturers are selling ODS-equipped heaters recommended for indoor use. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued several announcements and internet messages encouraging the use of ODS-equipped heaters. In conjunction with the CPSC, four propane heater companies (Bernzomatic, Turner, Brinkworth and American States) have conducted recalls of their heaters, even offering cash rewards up to $250 for each heater returned. Unfortunately, the Coleman Company has refused to recall its dangerous Focus and Powermate brand heaters and they continue to kill and injure people. Well over a million of these Coleman heaters may still be in the hands of consumers. Numerous lawsuits against Coleman have not convinced Coleman to recall its heaters or otherwise protect and warn users of the extreme carbon monoxide hazard. It is recommended that Coleman Focus and Powermate heaters be destroyed, or if continued to be used, never taken inside any enclosed area.

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http://www.carbonmonoxidedeaths.com/casefile.html

CO deaths Result in Large Verdicts for Survivors

CASE TITLE: BENJAMIN VS. THE COLEMAN COMPANY, INC., LANE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, CASE NO. 16-99-13699, EUGENE, OREGON

CASE SUMMARY REPORTED BY:
MARK N. STAGEBERG
ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF
5101 THIMSEN AVENUE
SUITE 201
MINNETONKA, MN 55345
952-470-5242
Fax: 952-470-5240
E-mail: stageberglaw@cs.com
Web Site: http://www.stageberglaw.com

Charles Schoggins, age 39, died of carbon monoxide poisoning on October 16, 1996. Mr. Schoggins was a construction worker who was temporarily staying in a tent at a home construction site in a small Oregon town near Eugene. A Coleman Focus 15 bulk-mount propane heater, owned by another construction worker, had been used by the owner and other construction workers inside their tents prior to the evening of Mr. Schoggins accident. On a cold and damp evening Mr. Schoggins borrowed the propane heater as he retired into a nylon tent. Mr. Schoggins, who had been drinking with co-workers that afternoon and evening, fell asleep with the heater operating within the tent. In the morning, he was found dead inside the tent with the tent flaps and windows closed. An autopsy found a very high level of carbon monoxide in his blood. Mr. Schoggins left surviving an adult daughter and a 1½-month-old son. The wrongful death action was brought on behalf of the two surviving children. Product liability claims against The Coleman Company contended that the heater was defective in its design and unreasonably dangerous, that it was negligently designed, and that it was sold with inadequate instructions and warnings.
Expert testimony was presented by Robert Engberg, a mechanical engineer in Minneapolis specializing in gas and propane products, Dr. Tarold Kvalseth, University of Minnesota mechanical engineer and human factors expert, and David G. Penney, Ph.D., carbon monoxide specialist from Wayne State University. After 8 days of trial, the 12-person Lane County jury, after a short two hours of deliberation, returned its verdict for the Plaintiff on December 17, 1999. The verdict found no contributory negligence on the part of Mr. Schoggins, found the Focus 15 heater to be defective, found Coleman to be negligent as to the heater design, and that the heater was sold with inadequate instructions and warnings. The damage award for the two children of Mr. Schoggins was in the sum of $769,000.

The verdict and findings against Coleman were affirmed on appeal by the Oregon Court of Appeals.  Benjamin v. Wal-Mart Stores, 185 Or. App. 444, 61 P.3d 257 (2002)

CASE TITLE:  COVAS VS. THE COLEMAN COMPANY, INC. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, CASE NO. 00-08541-CIV, MIAMI, FLORIDA

CASE SUMMARY REPORTED BY:
MARK N. STAGEBERG
ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF
5101 THIMSEN AVENUE
SUITE 201
MINNETONKA, MN 55345
952/470-5242
Fax: 952/470-5240
E-mail: Stageberglaw@cs.com
Web Site: http://www.stageberglaw.com

Over Thanksgiving weekend 1999, Pedro Covas, a 41-year old electrician from West Palm Beach, Florida, and his 16-year old stepson were camping in a tent in a hunting area in northern Florida.  They had used inside their tent a Coleman manufactured Focus 5 propane radiant heater and were found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning.  Autopsies of both decedents found very high levels of carbon monoxide in their blood.  A product liability lawsuit was brought against the Coleman Company alleging that the Focus 5 heater was defective and unreasonably dangerous because of its design and that it provided inadequate warnings of the carbon monoxide hazard.  The jury accepted the plaintiffs claim that because of its design, the Focus 5 heater allowed it to become contaminated and which altered the propane and air mixture resulting in high levels of carbon monoxide being produced.  Critical evidence in the case were a series of tests conducted by Coleman’s engineers which fully supported the plaintiff’s theory that a blockage of the propane flow resulted in high levels of carbon monoxide.  Expert testimony was presented by mechanical engineer and safety expert, Gary Hutter, Ph.D. regarding the defective design, inadequate warnings and causation of the deaths.  At the conclusion of 9 days of trial, the 8-person federal court jury awarded the wife and mother of the decedents $10.1 million with a finding that Mr. Covas was 25% at fault and the boy 5% at fault.  With the reduction for the comparative negligence, the net verdict was $7.6 million.  Coleman’s appeal on many issues to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals was summarily and quickly rejected with a 3-page appellate decision.  With interest, Coleman paid over $8 million on the judgment award.

CASE TITLE:  TORREY VS. THE COLEMAN COMPANY, INC. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO, CASE NO. 07-CV-00529, DENVER COLORADO

CASE SUMMARY REPORTED BY:
MARK N. STAGEBERG
ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF
5101 THIMSEN AVENUE
SUITE 201
MINNETONKA, MN 55345
952/470-5242
Fax: 952/470-5240
E-mail: Stageberglaw@cs.com
Web Site: http://www.stageberglaw.com

What should have been an enjoyable hunting trip to a Colorado Mountain cabin by a father and son turned into a deadly tragedy.  Mark Torrey, age 52, and his 26 year old son Christopher, died on the evening of September 22, 2006, from carbon monoxide poisoning while using a Focus 15 propane heater manufactured and sold by the Coleman Company.  Upon returning cold and wet from the day of hunting, Mark and Chris fixed and ate a supper and sat near the Coleman heater to dry their clothes and warm up.  When the men did not return as planned Sunday evening, Mark’s wife, Gail, initiated a search by friends and the authorities.  Mark was found dead slumped over in a chair before the heater and Chris was dead in his sleeping bag.  In the product liability lawsuit that followed, the Coleman Company presented the quite ridiculous defense that it was not the heater but a wood burning stove used to cook supper that filled the cabin with the carbon monoxide.  As in past cases, experts, Robert Engberg and Gary Hutter, Ph.D. tested the heater and provided the expert testimony against Coleman.  After eight days of trial before Senior Judge Richard P. Matsch, a conservative Colorado jury found Coleman negligent but ruled that the heater was not defective.  After deducing the jury’s findings of negligence on Mark and Christopher, the net damage award for the plaintiffs was $851,000.

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