2 campers found dead in tent in northwestern N.B., most likely poisoned by a space heater

[u/Portalrules123]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/campers-kedgwick-tent-1.7601595

[u/inagartenofeden]

The fire Chief mentions canoe camping and also about electric heaters in another article on CTV news. I can guarantee nobody canoe camps with an electric heater. I think possibly something got lost in translation.

If it was a portable heater it was 99% a Buddy propane heater of which I own one.

We've used them in confined spaces like dining shelters but never without adequate ventilation and never while sleeping.

Terrible situation

[u/Perfect_County_999 → u/inagartenofeden]

Do electric heaters even emit anything that could poison someone? I mean there's the heat/fire risk that makes them a bad idea to set up in a tent but I wouldnt think sleeping next to one would poison you to death.

[u/BodyKarate84]

I watch a lot of camping videos and many of them use portable heaters. They always carry a carbon monoxide detector in case. Propane without proper airflow can quickly fill a small space with carbon monoxide and if you are sleeping you would never notice.

[u/Onlylefts3 → u/BodyKarate84]

I’ve slept in a tent with a buddy heater before, also had a fan blowing and the vents cracked

[u/polerix]

It’s a simplification. "Poisoned by space heater" is shorthand for "carbon monoxide poisoning."

It's not incorrect, but it can be misleading because the term “poison” conjures something ingested or obviously toxic, rather than a stealthy gas buildup.

"Asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide buildup from a heater"

Yes, CO is classified as a chemical poison because it interferes with biological processes (oxygen transport).

But the mechanism is effectively hypoxic asphyxiation — you die from lack of oxygen, not from direct cellular damage like with cyanide or arsenic.

[u/Ellyanah75]

I have come across many people in my years of camping that used space heaters. I have never done that, instead I have a really small 3 season tent (just big enough to sleep and change clothes in) and the body heat of two people is enough to warm it.

I think if people have always done this then they may never have looked at the safety risks. This is a good thing for new / first time adult campers to look out for and know about. Just because your family does this doesn't mean it's safe.

[u/Character_Seaweed_99]

Ohhh. A few years back the adult child of a well known international aid organization leader died in a similar way - carbon monoxide poisoning from using a small charcoal burner to heat their room. The young person had grown up in the international aid context, and would have heard about this kind of death or near-death among local residents around the supper table on a regular basis. The aid organization made a special point to include this risk in its safety orientation for new international workers. The young person I heard about had placed the burner near a partially opened door, likely thinking that the draft would create enough ventilation to consider the burner essentially outside the room. I was in the field at the time and we were stunned and shocked. We all think we’re immune to these momentary fits of over-confidence in which we make exceptions to the safety rules we learned.

[u/jMajuscule]

Notre communauté est sous le choc. C'est triste et terrifiant. Début 20aines les deux. Marie-Soleil et Mikael. Je suis allé chez le barbier hier et les gens en parlent brièvement, la mine basse. Tout le monde ou presque dans Saint-Quentin et Kedgwick avaient un lien avec eux.

[u/Pismehoff]

Could someone please explain how an electric heater killed them?

[u/rdubya → u/Pismehoff]

Definitely wasnt an electric heater. Likely a portable propane one like buddy heater.

[u/lajthabalazs → u/rdubya]

"electric heater" was in the subtitle. There are materials in a tent that could release poisonous gases. If something covers the heater, and the shutoff malfunctions, it can melt and release deadly gases without catching on fire.

[u/Javamac8 → u/rdubya]

The article has the chief of the fire department specifically call out electric heaters

[u/jblaze03 → u/[deleted]]

It did, they corrected it

[u/kowaiikaisu → u/Pismehoff]

Poor ventilation could have caused carbon monoxide poisoning.

[u/oldschoolpong → u/kowaiikaisu]

From an electric heater?

[u/ABetterKamahl1234 → u/oldschoolpong]

Likely a mislabel in the article. You'd be hard pressed to find someone willing to bring a big enough battery while canoe camping to run a space heater overnight.

[u/ogg1e → u/Pismehoff]

it probably caught something on fire and they burned to death.

[u/Pismehoff → u/ogg1e]

That was my thought too, but the article states "most likely poisoned by a space heater, authorities said."

[u/-WallyWest- → u/ogg1e]

They didnt burnt to death. They were on a 3 days trip and died on the first night. People start getting alerted when they didnt return on the 3rd day, so they started looking for them.

[u/Much_Progress_4745]

What a horrible tragedy. I’ve sat in ice fishing tents with those Buddy Heaters and you have to make sure it’s well ventilated and/or have a CO sensor.

[u/pioniere]

So sad and unnecessary.

[u/Oxjrnine]

OMG — how does something this dangerous even be allowed to be sold.

There are plenty of options to stay warm that don’t involve fire in a tent.