CLARKSVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) — Bill Elder says Christmas Eve morning in 2022 could have ended in tragedy for his family.

Temperatures had plunged below zero in southern Indiana. Snow was blowing, wind chills were brutal — and like most people, Elder’s furnace was running nonstop to keep his Clarksville home warm.

“We probably would have died,” he said, recalling the terrifying ordeal.

That morning, Elder, his wife, and two young grandsons were cozy inside their home — unaware that dangerous levels of carbon monoxide were silently filling the air. The odorless, colorless gas was undetectable. No alarms had gone off. But when one of his grandsons started throwing up, Elder sensed something was seriously wrong.

He called 911.

“When he threw up, I thought something was wrong,” Elder said. “You can't smell it … and then we found out we all three had carbon monoxide poisoning.”

His wife was rushed to a hospital and placed in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Elder and his grandsons spent hours breathing pure oxygen. Though they all survived, the effects linger.

“I forget stuff now,” Elder said. “There’s confusion. It’s not like before.”

He says one of his grandsons has permanent memory issues from the exposure.

Seven weeks after the incident, CenterPoint Energy admitted that a mistake had been made: too much propane had been added into the natural gas system. That error led to a wave of carbon monoxide issues in homes across Clarksville, Jeffersonville and New Albany. More than 100 reports were filed.

Elder said the company ultimately settled with his family. He’s since replaced his furnace and other damaged appliances.

But this week, when news broke of a house explosion in Jeffersonville, Elder couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“I’m sure they’re still going to find out what happened,” he said. “But whose fault it is — that’s not really the issue. It’s people’s health. You know what I’m saying?”

CenterPoint Energy issued a statement about the Jeffersonville explosion, saying:

“The safety and well-being of the community remain our highest priority. After additional leak surveys were conducted, no leaks were detected on CenterPoint Energy’s system in the vicinity of the incident. As a precautionary step, we are continuing to perform leak surveys in the surrounding area. The cause of the incident remains under investigation.  We will continue to support the ongoing investigation and defer to the findings of the appropriate investigating agencies once they are available.” 

Elder is watching closely. He’s lived through what can go wrong — and hopes no one else has to.

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