Recent house fire sparks safety awareness

Air might not appear in a list of the most dangerous risks to college students, but one student has a mission to spread the word that something in the air may be a matter of life and death.\nGraduate student Tom Lindberg is lecturing in his Chemistry C342 discussion sections about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. After the class, he draws the names of several students each of whom receive a free carbon monoxide detector.\nCarbon monoxide can be deadly if too much of it fills an enclosed space. According to Lindberg, the compound has a greater affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen. Hemoglobin is the respiratory protein of red blood cells that transport oxygen. Once carbon monoxide enters the bloodstream, it latches onto hemoglobin and stays attached -- leaving no room for oxygen. If there is enough carbon monoxide in the bloodstream, the result is death by asphyxiation.\nLindberg conceived this project last May, when two juniors and a sophomore died in an off-campus house fire. Carbon monoxide poisoning might have been a factor in these deaths.\n"I didn't know the victims personally," Lindberg said, "but I have a son their age who lives with his friends in an old house, so the story really affected me."\nLindberg bought his son a carbon monoxide detector but felt he should do more to raise awareness about carbon monoxide poisoning. Lindberg decided to ask businesses for donations of carbon monoxide detectors to give away to students. \nHe found detectors at Lowe's, where managers Matt Monroe and Pete DeBaun donated 10 detectors to his cause.\nIn his discussion sections, Lindberg has students put their names on slips of paper, which he puts in a bowl. He tells students about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and why he decided to take on this cause. Then has a blindfolded student draw names from the bowl to see who wins the free detectors. \nSeniors Bailey Myers, Amanda Bessler and Nathan Dolbee won the detectors in their Thursday afternoon discussion section.\n"(The detectors) are definitely something you wouldn't think of as a gift," Myers said. "But now that I've heard the stories behind them, I'm thankful I got one."\nCarbon monoxide poisoning has garnered some local attention because of the May fire, as well as national attention after comic singer "Weird Al" Yankovic's parents, Nick and Mary, died of the poisoning in April.\n"I've heard about people who die of (carbon monoxide poisoning)," Bressler said. "But I don't hear about it very often."\nSmoke detectors will detect smoke and alert residents about a possible fire, but they do not detect carbon monoxide. Only detectors specifically for carbon monoxide can perform this task; and the winners were glad to receive them.\n"Carbon monoxide detectors seem like something people would usually have," \n"College students can live in old housing, though, and might not have them," Dolbee said.\nLindberg hopes even those who did not receive the free detectors will take his message to heart and buy detectors themselves.\n"Every life is important," Lindberg said. "Fifty dollars is a small price to pay for insurance against accidents."\n-- Contact staff writer Jorie Slodki at jslodki@indiana.edu.