Address glitch led to (electricity) shutoff at family's home (Results: four dead)

[Bozita]

Source: Detroit News

Saturday, July 18, 2009
Address glitch led to shutoff at family's home
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News

Detroit -- DTE officials acknowledged Friday that they had received notice weeks ago of a bankruptcy filing that could have prevented the power to a westside Detroit home from being shut off.
Confusion over the address led to the shut off, which contributed to the deaths of four people Thursday.

When the power was turned off to the home on Wednesday, the family placed a gas-powered generator in their basement to power medical equipment and air conditioners, resulting in the death of three children and their father.

"We didn't get a notification that that's that address," said Eileen Dixon, spokeswoman for DTE Energy. "The address is the primary component used in that process. This just underscores how important it is that people let us know when people are in trouble."

These are the latest details to emerge after the tragedy that claimed the lives of Vaughn Reed and his children Mar'Keisha Reed, 17, DeMarco Owens, 12, and DeMonte Owens, 6. Mar'Keisha, a Cody High School senior, was headed to Japan in August; DeMarco was an A student and former Boy Scout; DeMonte, who had asthma and neurofibromatosis, liked to draw.

Read more: http://www.detnews.com/article/20090718/METRO01/907180366/Address-glitch-led-to-shutoff-at-family-s-home

[WriteDown]

1. I'm going to say the deaths were causes by the GAS GENERATOR

placed indoors. I'm still amazed that people still do this. You still here of a few people dying from trying to charcoal grill indoors too.

[MUAD_DIB]

3. Cause and effect. Electricity was shut off so another option was found.

If the electricity was wrongly shut off do they have a case?

[sutz12]

4. Probably not much of one...

Tragic story, but generators have safety warnings, usually printed on a non-removable label against using them indoors.

Really, really sad.

[MUAD_DIB]

5. Agreed. Sad.

[AlbertCat]

8. another option was found.

But not an option anyone in their right mind would use. These people killed themselves.

[harmonicon]

29. not "these people", but the parents I imagine

I don't think you can blame a child for a parent's stupidity.

[Clintonista2]

10. Had electricity never been invented, they wouldn't have died

Maybe they should sue Benjamin Franklin.

[jody]

43. Sorry GOD created electricity so it's a preternatural suit.

:sarcasm: :evilgrin:

[MUAD_DIB]

55. Aparently you didn't read my whole post,

but thanks for the sarcasm.

[Wizard777]

21. Yes they do. Never mind the bankruptcy proceeding. They had a person using medical equipment.

That is definitely a do not disconnect at any time for any reason. They basically pulled the plug on him with total disregard to medical procedure and directives issued by him. This is the home care equivalent of a hospital pulling a plug on him because he doesn't have insurance and they aren't getting paid. The deaths should be ruled homicide. Involuntary manslaughter at the very least.

[WriteDown]

38. Why?

"The notice, however, indicated an address different from the house on Grandmont, where the power was shut off Wednesday and where the family was living. It listed only a house on Albion. According to Marquetta Owens, mother of the children and the lone survivor, Reed's mother lives at that address."

[Wizard777]

44. Because it is a death that resulted from negligence.

Be it the negligence of the caretaker or the Utility Company. Negligence factors into the cause of death. That's negligent homicide. That usually results in one of the varying degrees of manslaughter. Regardless of the bankruptcy proceeding they should have received a cut off notice for that address at that address. They should have notified the utility that they cannot discontinue service because of the medical equipment. Even if they thought that bankruptcy proceeding would prevent the cut off. Once service was cut off they should have notified the Utility Company of the medical equipment. Upon receiving notification the Utility Company should have immediately reconnected the service.

I'm just saying this is a homicide due to negligence. I'm not yet saying who's negligence it is. What it's going to come down to is who passes the reasonable person test combined with who had the last opportunity to prevent the death. Resorting to using the generator could fall under Heroic Efforts and provide the care taker with some immunities. But only if the loss of power would have unquestionably resulted in the patients death. There is "medical equipment" and there's medical equipment. They are only prohibit from disconnecting homes with life support equipment in use. A dermatologist can prescribe an electric facial scrubber for a patient with acne. The facial scrubber being prescribed is "medical equipment." But a loss of power to the "medical equipment" will not result in or expedite the patients death or suffering. So "medical equipment" is a very broad term they need to be more specific about. This report doesn't contain enough information to make a determination one way or the other.

[The Stranger]

7. Hey, WriteDown, why did they even need a generator if they had electricity?

Curious.

[Clintonista2]

12. Natural selection

[Gemini Cat]

25. Rotten thing to say.

Four people are dead. Have a little class dude.

[katkat]

42. backup

Because electricity fails, and you need a backup if it's a crucial need. It probably fails 2-3 times a year where I live, due to storms, trees taking down power lines, and so on.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. Amazes me too

Warnings are everywhere and its not rocket science, even without them

[1monster]

13. That's interesting that you state warnings are everywhere. I have a gas generator that we bought

about ten or eleven years ago and there are and were no warnings not use it indoors on it.

We knew better than to do so, but, while there may have been warnings on the box, there are none on the generator itself. Who knows whether they bought it new or used or how old it is.

Perhaps the family thought that it would be safe if used in the basement rather than in their living quarters?

Not all people are knowledgable enough or have the ability to extrapolate further from what is literally on the warning labels.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

16. They were there on the generators people I knew bought for Y2K and in the manuals as well

Perhaps its my techie background, but to run *any* internal combustion motor indoors is a bad thing.

[1monster]

26. Agreed. But people don't always think well in emergency situations.

And perhaps they were afraid of the noise bothering neighbors or of it being stolen.

During the year of hurricanes in Florida (we had four), someone tried to steal ours in the wee small hours of the night when it was shut down. My husband had chained it with a nautical anchor chain to a post cemented in the ground and he/they were thwarted.

I heard of another case during the same time that a generator was stolen while it was on by someone who fired up a lawnmower late at night when the lights were off to so the owners wouldn't investigate the sudden silence...

At any rate, it was a tragedy.

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. That was my first thought, too - they didn't set it up in the kitchen, it was in

the basement, probably with a couple basement windows opened for ventilation, thinking that would be sufficient. Even recognising the danger, the thought would be that carbon monoxide is heavier than air and even if the level rose in the basement it would escape out the basement windows and be no danger to the house above it.

On that reasoning, I might make the same mistake. In fact, I probably would.

[kentauros]

23. However, I would have thought an "A+ student and former BoyScout"

would have been knowledgeable to understand that an unvented engine is soon going to fill all spaces with its exhaust. For that matter, how often do movies and TV depict someone committing suicide by running their car in a closed garage?

[Moosepoop]

49. Oh, come on! He was TWELVE!

The "A+ student and former Boy Scout" was a 12-year-old. He wasn't currently in Scouting, even. Yet his death and those of his siblings and father was HIS fault, because HE should have known better?? Please.

[WriteDown]

36. A tip....

You probably should stop buying those unlabeled Chinese generators.

[1monster]

47. Very funny, ha ha. It was purchased when there were still a few item for sale that were not made in

China.

Now, you can't even buy a name-brand apple juice that dosen't have Chinese apple concentrate in it.

ON EDIT: I just checked. It is a Coleman, made in the USA.

[JerseygirlCT]

14. If they needed energy to run medical equipment, I can imagine

making that choice and hoping for the best, though.

[caseymoz]

31. Maybe with medical equipment they were desperate enough to try this.

I need to know more about how they set this up, whether there was any ventilation.

Even though I know how dangerous this is, I could see where people desperate enough could make the mistake. I mean, for instance, a gas stove will cook safely indoors. Maybe they thought the ventilation was adequate.

[Buzz Clik]

2. Damn, that's sad. And preventable, even beyond the DTE screwup.

Generators have warnings against using them indoors. It's a major bummer that they family didn't read the instructions.

[ejpoeta]

6. i can't believe the electricity was allowed to be turned off when there was a medical

need.

[rfranklin]

15. I think you hit the nail on the head...

From the DTE Energy website--

"Corporate Governance

DTE Energy is committed to operating in an ethical, legal and environmentally sensitive and socially responsible manner, while creating long-term value for our shareholders."

I guess they skipped the "socially responsible" part this week.

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. This just underscores how important it is that people let us know when people are in trouble.

IOW, let's blame the victims.

[KamaAina]

27. Eileen Dixon: Today's Worst. Person. In The World!

well, Monday's, I guess. :grr:

[WriteDown]

37. How, is she psychic?

"The notice, however, indicated an address different from the house on Grandmont, where the power was shut off Wednesday and where the family was living. It listed only a house on Albion. According to Marquetta Owens, mother of the children and the lone survivor, Reed's mother lives at that address."

[KamaAina]

51. The money quote, worthy of Palin herself:

"This just underscores how important it is that people let us know when people are in trouble."

:eyes:

[WriteDown]

52. I'm curious how you think they are supposed to know...

unless they are called.

[haele]

28. We have a medical need at home - a CPAP user -

And in the medical baseline pamplet we got from our utility when we signed up, they still reserve the right to shut off electricity to any resident with a medical need if they can't pay the entire bill when it's due. All the law in California requires is that they not tack on a penalty surcharge for the excessive electricity use to keep someone alive, they put the residence on a list to "not shut off" in the grid maintenance brown or blackout situations, and that they make an attempt (note the passive direction) to work with the medical needs "customer" if they fall behind on their payments for any reason. Of course, if they raise rates across the board, we medical needs customers still have to deal with the rate increase, just like all the other fixed income residents and families that are very conservation concious but don't have the ability to add generators to their homes have to.
They can still shut us off. The major legal "penalty" they would face would be bad publicity if they don't try to work with us.

Haele

[Odin2005]

9. Obscene. Heads need to roll.

:cry:

[WriteDown]

39. At the bankruptcy court? That would be very unlikely.

"The notice, however, indicated an address different from the house on Grandmont, where the power was shut off Wednesday and where the family was living. It listed only a house on Albion. According to Marquetta Owens, mother of the children and the lone survivor, Reed's mother lives at that address."

[McCamy Taylor]

17. Most places will/can not shut off power when there is a medical need.

[varelse]

19. This is tragic

what's just as sickening, though, are some of the early replies in this thread. Three beautiful and intelligent children are dead because of a terrible combination of errors:

Mar'Keisha Reed, 17, DeMarco Owens, 12, and DeMonte Owens, 6. Mar'Keisha, a Cody High School senior, was headed to Japan in August; DeMarco was an A student and former Boy Scout; DeMonte, who had asthma and neurofibromatosis, liked to draw.

The kids didn't kill themselves, nor were they, as someone has replied here, victims of "Natural Selection". They were killed in a tragic, avoidable accident which was triggered by an event that should never happen in a sane and just society: in a home where medical equipment and air conditioning was required to keep one of those children out of the hospital, the power was shut off without any consideration for the impact it would have on the health of that child.

For all of you alleged progressives who have replied only to mock the tragedy, I give a you the salute of one finger. It's all the reply you deserve, or will ever get from me.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

22. You, m'am...

Are my most admired person of the day. Keep saluting, wherever appropriate. ;-)

[AlbertCat]

35. Confusion over the address led to the shut off,

So...it wasn't cut off KNOWING there was medical equipment that needed power. It was a mistake.

The unsafe setting up of a generator killed those poor people, not the electric company.

Why didn't they take the child to the hospital? Oh that's right, the bankruptcy notice. Still, that wasn't an option?

So is the Bank responsible too?

Could they not call the Electric company right away and explain what was going on? I had my power cut off on a friday night by mistake once and called and hemmed and hawed and had it back on within 2 hours.

Are they in the middle of nowhere? Could they have run a cord from a neighbor's house...while they called to find out what was going on?

I'm sorry but there's just not enough info in the story to condemn anyone but the parents. There seems to be many other alternatives than starting a gas generator indoors and then just going to bed.

What else went on?

[varelse]

45. "I'm sorry but there's just not enough info in the story to condemn anyone but the parents"

This one statement speaks volumes - about you.

[fujiyama]

53. Nice to see some people still have decency and class

This was just one of those mistakes that anyone could make. Since the generator was in the basement, they likely didn't imagine CO contaminating the entire house.

I just hope anyone that owns a generator realizes the importance of not running it inside.

A real tragedy and four people are dead. I seriously can't understand how anyone could mock them. Sickening.

[liberalmuse]

24. I thought electric companies flagged households...

that had medical equipment like this. What a senseless tragedy.

I'm never ceased to be amazed by some of the people at DU. I guess it's logical we would have our own dregs of humanity, too. Not everyone is as well-educated as yourselves. A good number of people in American and around the world really do not know that a generator or grill kept indoors can kill you. Sometimes people unwittingly do stupid shit when they're desperate. A little fucking compassion for the dead would be nice.

[truthisfreedom]

30. Suggestion for keeping this from happening again: Doctors should supply patients with a notice to

be sent to power companies (gas and electric) informing them of medical devices being used at any particular address.

This could keep the power from being turned off at any particular address, glitch or not.

This was a tragedy of errors:

1] Medical devices in use at address, power company doesn't know, nor do they have a system for consumers to keep them informed.

2] Bills weren't paid, so electricity was scheduled to be turned off.

3] Bankruptcy was filed, but a glitch in the address caused the power company to turn off power anyway.

4] Apparently, the family did not inform the electric company that the power should have been left on, or perhaps didn't understand. Maybe they didn't have a phone either, and felt the situation was so dire, they had to take matters into their own hands.

5] The family operated a gas generator in their basement. This is just as dangerous and starting a bonfire in your basement.

What else could have helped? Generators should have giant signs right where you turn them on that say DANGER! OPERATING INDOORS WILL CAUSE DEATH. OUTDOOR USE ONLY. The cost of producing modern generators with exhaust sensors that detect buildup of dangerous gases to provide a safety auto-kill would not be prohibitive. Electronics is remarkably cheap these days. Generators should be able to detect if they are being operated in a dangerous way.

[Kaleva]

32. Carbon monoxide detectors would have saved this family

Even if one isn't running improperly vented gas generators in their homes, it's a good idea to install them along with smoke detectors.

I feel bad for the kids but the father left the thinking cap in the closet when he put in that gas generator.

[greiner3]

33. I've come to the conclusion that conservatives;

Lack empathy and that this lack of a trait is indicative of several serious forms of mental illness. This is not much different than that case of the cops, in Atlanta (?), who when they went to the wrong address with an arrest warrant and knocked down the wrong door and ended up killing that 90 year old woman. The father in this news story did not intend for deaths to happen. I say he had a chronic illness and when power went out maybe his asthmatic son began wheezing and the other children began yelling for him to hurry and do something and he himself was getting worse physically and he just did what he did. Not every person on this board are trolls and I'll bet not all trolls are completely bad. But if any DUers in good standing thinks this tragedy is the family's fault, they died might want to keep freeperville's icon proudly displayed on their bookmarks toolbar. Do this not to investigate and get back to us, but do it so they can cheer on their favorite fox newscaster or pray with the nut jobs or plan the next armed insurgency.

Just saying

[WriteDown]

34. Lotta maybes in that tale...

Maybe Tom Cruise came to the door and told them it would be safe to use a generator indoors. I'd be surprised if the authorities aren't looking for Tom Cruise now. :eyes:

[AlbertCat]

41. But if any DUers in good standing thinks this tragedy is the family's fault,

Like I said earlier...

The Electric company had "confusion over the address". So how can they know there's medical equipment there? It's written right there in the original post.

What other solutions to the problem might have been employed? Like taking the child to the hospital. Or, y'know, calling the figgin' electric company to find out what was going on. How about running a cord from a neighbors house.... while you called the friggin' electric company.

all these BEFORE setting up an internal combustion generator indoors. Of course they may have done all this....it doesn't say.

If any DUers in good standing just knee jerk blames whatever evil big company for every individual tragedy, they might want to create an "I don't read or think" avatar for their posts.

[Norrin Radd]

48. It seems like conservative dems are trying to steer this site rightward.

[scarface2004]

40. life is cheap in detroit...

get out while you can

[subcomhd]

46. TXU has stopped all disconects here (Texas)

It has been well over a hundred every day for a while - a cut-off would be a death sentence for a healthy person, even without the generator fiasco.

[WriteDown]

50. That's impossible...

Everything associated with TX is backward and evil. :sarcasm:

On a serious note, I think several states have that rule. And I think last week it topped out at 108 in Dallas. I'm amazed my electric bill hasn't broken 300$ yet though.

[Wednesdays]

54. K&R

:kick: