After grilling hamburgers on a tabletop grill, they placed the lid on the grill to extinguish the coals. They visited with their friends until about 10 p.m., then placed the grill in a storage area underneath their camper, watched the news and went to bed. The coals re-kindled and the carbon monoxide from the grill penetrated the floor of the camper, killing the couple. An investigation by Iowa State University found that carbon monoxide from the grill entered the camper in less than two minutes and reached a deadly concentration of 500 parts per million in less than 60 minutes. Never burn charcoal or place coals, even if they appear to be extinguished, inside homes, vehicles, tents or any enclosed area, Greiner said.
Coals can re-ignite several hours after they appear to be cold.
Carbon monoxide is especially dangerous because it has no odor and cannot be seen. Charcoal has some odor when it burns. However, during testing by Iowa State University, the burning charcoal in the storage compartment could not be smelled from the camper bedroom. Burning charcoal produces such large amounts of carbon monoxide that opening a window or using a fan will not assure that carbon monoxide will be reduced to safe levels, Greiner said. The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that each year approximately 25 people die and hundreds more suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning when they burn charcoal in enclosed areas such as their homes, in campers or vans, or in tents.