Three children die from carbon monoxide poisoning

Baby-sitter and sister in critical condition

ROYAL CITY - Three Royal City siblings died late Monday in their home from carbon monoxide poisoning after a gas generator was brought inside to heat a home grown cold from a power outage.

The children, ages 8, 2, and 4 months, were found dead in the living room, huddled around the generator and an electric heater, Grant County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy John Turley said Tuesday. Their parents weren't able to wake the children when they arrived home from work.

Survivors inside the home were Jazmin Ramirez, 21, a niece, and Katya Rodriguez, a 13-year-old sister of the deceased children. Ramirez and Rodriguez were listed in critical condition Tuesday at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

Ramirez was baby-sitting the younger children.

A gas generator was moved into the home on Lower Crab Creek Road to keep the children warm because of a power outage, Grant County Coroner Jerry Jasman said.

Jasman said he didn't know who moved the generator into the home.

A power outage was reported about 3:45 p.m. Monday on Lower Crab Creek Road because of a defective fuse on a power pole, said Dorothy Harris, Grant County PUD's spokesperson.

Power was restored at 6:03 p.m. to seven or eight homes on Lower Crab Creek Road, she said. The home the children were staying at was within the area of the outage, she said.

The children were found about 9 p.m., Turley stated. Their names are Jose Gilberto Acosta Ramirez, 8, Yadina Acosta Ramirez, 2, and Alan Y. Acosta-Ramirez, 4 months old.

Parents Gilberto Acosta Gallegos, 34, and Elba Villanueva Ramirez, 35, were not injured, Jasman said.