I was saddened by the story of the Thaxton family. They had purchased a new house. Thinking that the vent of the side of the house was for the dryer, they moved into their new home. It turns out that the vent was from a gas furnace. With an aging gas heater and no cabon monoxide detector, the house was a death trap that claimed their youngest son.

The sad story does not stop with the tragedy. The stricken family gets caught up in a Utah bureaucracy that wants to blame the loss of their son on a moral deficiency (vegetarianism) rather than real cause of the death.

The dangers of carbon monoxide are well known. The best defense is a CO detector and regular maintenance of gas furnaces. Realizing that I live in a state that allows exhaust fan placement near air intake systems and one that will blame CO poisoning on moral deficiencies, I realize that it is up to the people to educate and protect themselves.