Coroner issues carbon monoxide warning following death

Anton McNulty

THE Coroner for Mayo has called on people to ensure they get a carbon monoxide alarm installed after hearing how a Hollymount man died from carbon monoxide poisoning during a fire.
William Brannick (82), a single man of Ballymongan, Hollymount died on October 19, 2017 after a fire broke out in his two-storey farm house. He was found unconscious in an upstairs bathroom. The post mortem into his death found that he died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The inquest heard that there were no smoke or carbon monoxide devices detected in the house following the fire and Mr Patrick O’Connor, Coroner for Mayo, urged the public to ensure they are fitted in their homes.
“It is beholden on everyone to ensure that they put in a carbon monoxide detecter … they are not very expensive. At this time of the year when there are lot of rosy fires, it is important to be aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide, particularly in older homes where fires burn all night,” he said.
The inquest heard that Michael O’Malley, a neighbour of Mr Brannick, smelt smoke at approximately 11.40pm on October 19 and saw that the roof of Mr Brannick’s home was on fire. He drove down to his house and ran to his back door but the door handle was extremely hot to touch.

Emergency services
Mr O’Malley called the emergency services and waited for them to arrive. Henry Mellott, of the Mayo Fire Service said they arrived at 12.16am and a search team looked through two rooms but found no one. They searched another part of the house and found Mr Brannick on a bathroom floor.
He was removed from the house but showed no signs of life and was pronounced dead at 1.28am. No evidence was given on how the fire may have started.
A post mortem found there was no evidence of injury or foul play and Dr Fadel Bennani, Consultant Pathologist said his organs were normal. A blood test found that his carbon monoxide levels were at 55 percent with 30 percent considered to be a lethal level.
Dr Bennani said carbon monoxide was odourless and the sign you are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning was a severe headache. He said it can send you into a coma and in fires victims are often dead as a result of poisoning before they are burnt. He said even treatment with oxygen will not be enough to overcome the effects of carbon monoxide and described it as a very dangerous gas. Mr O’Connor recorded a verdict of accidental death and expressed his sympathies to Mr Brannick’s family, neighbours and friends on his untimely death.