Victim of Kitchener CO poisoning was recent grad from India, says family friend

The 25-year-old man who died from carbon monoxide poisoning at a Kitchener home Tuesday was a recently graduated international student from India, a family friend says.

“He’s an only child here. He came four years ago. Now the parents are back home in India,” said Don Patel, speaking on behalf of the family.

“They cannot stop crying. They’re thinking: ‘How can this happen? Why my son?”

The family has chosen not to publicly release the man’s name.

Police and the Kitchener Fire Department said they believe the carbon monoxide poisoning was accidental and caused by a car left running in the home’s garage. Emergency crews arrived at the home around 7:30 a.m.

Patel said the man who died was the first person in the home to wake up on Tuesday morning.

“He came down. He heard some noise,” he said. “As soon as he opened the garage door the inhalants of the stuff made him just collapse right there.”

He was later found by firefighters in the garage without vital signs.

Six other residents of the home were taken to hospital.

Speaking Wednesday afternoon, Patel said they are all in good, stable condition and are being released from hospital.

Don Patel is a family friend of the man who died. (Heather Senoran/CTV Kitchener)

NO WORKING CO ALARMS IN HOME: KITCHENER FIRE

Deputy Fire Chief Chris Davidson said no working carbon monoxide alarms were found in the home.

It is mandatory to have working fire and carbon monoxide alarms in every home in Ontario and fire officials say this incident is a tragic reminder of what can happen if you don’t.

“Have a working carbon monoxide alarm in your home,” Davidson said. “It protects you and your family [from] something that really is impossible to detect without it.”

He said the Kitchener Fire Department rarely sees carbon monoxide poisoning deaths, but said they go to CO alarm calls daily.

BODY WILL BE REPATRIATED TO INDIA

As for the family that lost their son, they now have to deal with the unthinkable.

“A tragedy like this, nobody can expect, but nobody should be expecting this kind of thing to happen in their family or friends,” Patel said.

He and others are working with the coroner and the consulate to ensure the 25-year-old’s body is returned to India as soon as possible.

“To wait for a week or 10 days to receive their loved one, it is heart breaking, so we are trying to work with all the authorities we can,” he said.

Patel said Kitchener Fire has cleared the other residents to go back into the home, but most are still too emotional to do so.