THE death of a boater at Salterforth Wharf on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal was caused by carbon monoxide fumes an inquest has heard.
Mark Allott was discovered dead on his narrowboat Galeforce moored at the wharf in December of last year, poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes from the leaking solid fuel stove that was left on all night, Alan Tilbury reveals.
An old boat
It was an old boat that he and a friend Tony Read had bought and which they renovated as a residential, and it was Tony who boarded the boat one morning and found his friend dead.
At the inquest he told that the stove was the only source of heating on the narrowboat and that on some occasions when it had been used previously it had left him ‘feeling dizzy', but that nothing was done about it.
No seals
After the death, heating engineer Thomas Holdsworth was called in to test the stove for emissions, and told that when burning such as chipboard, that the boater used, the emissions levels went up. He went on to say that the main seals of the stove were missing, and that would allow gasses produced in the combustion to leak.
A pathologist then reported that he found carbon monoxide levels in Mark's blood at 75 per cent. Any level above 50 per cent is likely to be fatal.
Quickly causes unconscious
As many boaters are aware, the lethal gas is colourless and odourless and quickly causes unconsciousness as levels built up inside the boat.
The cause of death was given as carbon monoxide poisoning.
Mark's family told the inquest his death should lead to the compulsory fitting of carbon monoxide detection alarms in all boats.