State Patrol says incorrectly installed water heater caused carbon monoxide poisoning at Evergreen State College

An incorrectly installed water heater caused the carbon monoxide poisoning accident at Evergreen State College, Washington State Patrol’s (WSP) investigation found.

In a press release on Wednesday, March 13, Evergreen staff wrote that they received an initial briefing from WSP about the cause of the accident, which took away the life of Evergreen student Jonathan Rodriguez and led to the hospitalization of two other students and a college police officer.

The accident took place at a housing area called the Modular Apartments on December 12.

WSP found that the college’s protocol was insufficient to address the accident as there was a lack of understanding of the college's fire alarm system. Detectors rang during the event, but according to the investigation, the alarm system was misunderstood as faulty.

“We are thankful for the Washington State Patrol’s diligence in conducting a thorough investigation. Their investigation found that lack of training and insufficient protocols for responding to carbon monoxide alarms contributed to this tragic accident,” said President John Carmichael of Evergreen.

“As a result, we are taking numerous steps to ensure our students’ safety - including improving training on incident detection and updating alarm response protocols,” he added.

According to the college website, Evergreen has already implemented several safety measures. The college’s board of trustees already approved an allocation of $1 million from its contingency reserve fund to resolve housing and facilities issues.

Evergreen has also hired and is still hiring several additional personnel. The college hired a contractor to review the college’s heating system and identify necessary repairs or replacements. The college is also seeking a facilities manager to focus on residential and dining facilities.

Besides increasing its personnel, the college inspected all student housing units and relocated students living in propane-fueled dwellings to either in-campus apartments or at the Evergreen Gardens complex.

Increased training will also be a priority as all housing workers will undergo CPR and first aid training in April. Evergreen has also hired a custodian to oversee general safety training.