A €30 CARBON monoxide alarm would have prevented the death of a man killed while trying to fix a wood pellet burner, according to a family solicitor.
Colm MacGeehin made the comment following an inquest into the death of Declan Murphy, Limetree Lodge, Portarlington, Co Laois.
Mr Murphy was trying to fix a fault with a wood pellet burner in his shed when he was overcome by fumes on November 25th, 2010.
His wife, Siobhán McCann, said her husband had climbed into a pellet silo to try and fix a pellet-feeding problem. “He looked at me and said I don’t feel well, I need to get out of here,” she said in her deposition. Mr Murphy began to have a seizure.
Acting coroner Eugene O’Connor said the workplace was the primary concern of the Health and Safety Authority.
Mr O’Connor said he would ask the Department of the Environment to consider installing carbon monoxide detectors and indicator lights in all dwellings using wood pellet burners.
Mr MacGeehin said the family intended to pursue the matter through the courts.
