Suicide With Poisonous Gas Evacuates Pa. Homes

April 26--A Hellertown man who killed himself at home with a noxious mixture of chemicals, forcing the evacuation of several Locust Road homes, has been identified.

Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said 22-year-old Kyle Miller died of asphyxiation after he used chemicals to produce a poisonous gas after a brief standoff with police Saturday morning. His death was determined to be suicide, Lysek said.

Lysek said the gas was hydrogen sulfide, which can be created by combining household chemicals and is on the rise in the United States as a means of suicide, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Hellertown police say they responded at 6 a.m. to a report of a man who was barricaded in his home and intended to harm himself. Upon arrival, police tried to enter the home, but smelled a strong chemical odor and retreated, according to Hellertown Chief Robert Shupp III.

Miller was later was found dead by authorities in protective gear who entered the home. Shupp said the contamination was contained to the home and that no first responders were affected by the chemicals.

The incident forced several families in the 400 block of Locust Road out of their homes and streets around the scene were closed as firefighters, rescue workers and other authorities from a number of municipalities responded.

Officials in white Tyvek coveralls removed two dogs from the home, a yellow Labrador named Lucky and a black Labrador named Rex.

The dogs were decontaminated and are being watched for signs of exposure to hydrogen sulfide, said Erica Tramuta-Drobnis, a veterinarian with Lehigh Valley County Animal Rescue Team, which is treating the dogs.

Hydrogen sulfide is a poisonous, flammable gas that carries a rotten-egg-like smell, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. It occurs naturally in such things as volcanoes and in industrial processes.

Lysek said there have been a number of suicides involving hydrogen sulfide in Northampton County.

In 2011, a Monroe County highway was shut down when a man attempted suicide by inhaling hydrogen sulfide in his car at Tobyhanna State Park. Firefighters in protective gear were able to remove the man from the car and decontaminate him, saving his life.

Firefighters were ventilating the Locust Road home with fans, seven hours after residents were evacuated from the block. Shupp said the home would be boarded up until it can be decontaminated.

Police forced Locust Road residents to leave their homes around 6 a.m. Saturday, according to Kelly Albertson, who lives next to the yellow Cape Cod where the man's body was found.

Albertson said she then saw police go into her next-door neighbor's home and come running out, saying there may be "harsh chemicals" inside.

Numerous, fire, police, ambulance and haz-mat crews were on the scene for hours.

The borough canceled some Little League games and other activities at nearby Dimmick Park, which reopened at about 1:15 p.m.

peter.hall@mcall.com

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