UPDATED: Toxic fumes kill couple, leave baby in hospital

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

POLICE suspect toxic fumes from a generator killed a married couple and left their infant granddaughter in critical condition yesterday morning.

All three were found unresponsive by neighbours, who forced their way into the Butler Street home in Nassau Village sometime after 8am.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean said the infant exhibited “little signs of vital life” at the time of the discovery.

Neighbours identified the deceased as Brady and Princess Simms, area residents since the late 1980s.

While an autopsy will have to confirm the cause of death, ACP Dean said it is possible that the use of a generator that was found attached to the house, and left running overnight, may have “contributed” to their deaths. He noted that the house was experiencing “technical issues so there was no electricity at the time”.

“We’re in the preliminary stages of our investigations,” he said. “Once we’re able to get some further information we’ll be able to reveal that information. But we want to still use this opportunity for persons who might have apparatus, make sure get professionals to connect instruments to your house, make sure they’re in secure locations, and try and keep them away from your homes, particularly generators.

“And so we ask you to get professional advice and seek professional advice if you’re going to connect these things to your house,” he said. 

Mr Simms was attached to the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) as a reserve officer at the time of his death, according to ACP Dean. The Tribune understands that his wife was an employee at the Ministry of Tourism. 

Mr Dean said neighbours had to “force” entry into the home after getting no response from the deceased, leading to the discovery and the notification of the authorities. 

All three were subsequently taken to hospital, ACP Dean said, where police later confirmed that the couple had already passed away.

Mr Dean said the death of Mr Simms and his wife made for a “sorrowful time” throughout the RBPF. 

“The adult male we can confirm is attached to the RBPF as a reserve officer, who spent his lifetime as a police officer, came back and gave service to the country,” he said. 

“This is a hard moment because one of their sons is a police officer attached to the Royal Bahamas Police Force and it’s not easy for him. So on behalf of the Commissioner, the senior executive management team of the RBPF and the Minister of National Security, we want to give our condolences and this time we will be behind the family, because they are dear to us, they are a part of us, so we will be behind the family.”

Two women, who both claimed to have known the deceased couple since 1987, said the Simms were both “really humble, nice people”.

“You don’t even know they live in this neighbourhood,” said one woman. “When you see them they hail you, very humble people. No trouble people at all.” 

Another woman said: “They wasn’t no problem to nobody. You see them getting ready, going to work, coming from work, going home, hailing you saying ‘How you doing’, ‘What you saying’, ‘Where you going’. Never a problem.”

Yesterday, Bahamas Power and Light noted that there were several outages on Wednesday evening that were caused by adverse weather conditions, and in one instance a traffic accident. However, the company said it did not have any record of outages in the Nassau Village community in the past 24 hours.

In a statement, BPL Communications Manager Arnette Ingraham said: “While this event is certainly a tragedy, we continue to advise residents with generators to ensure that they are being used properly in the absence of supply by BEC/BPL.”

Comments

Publius says...

oh dear!

Posted 19 May 2016, 10:55 p.m. Suggest removal

Sickened says...

Very, very sad.

Posted 20 May 2016, 8:55 a.m. Suggest removal

Bahamianpride says...

Sad and worse, completely avoidable

Posted 20 May 2016, 9:07 a.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

That is a case to show that even though a family may have a job(s), that the COST of living has now exceeded the income of many households ........ these were not the usual "poor" people ......... but the struggle was REAL .......... that is why Bahamians are angry with the PLP government today ....... how can a middle aged couple with jobs cannot afford BEC???

Posted 20 May 2016, 10:28 a.m. Suggest removal

Observer says...

Speculation; speculation; speculation;all amount to speculation. Please exercise discipline and patience and stop 'jumping' to a conclusion in the absence of relevant facts. Simply put, wait. There is no glory in pretending to be a prophet. If ya don't know what actually happened and why, then ya don't know. Shut up.

Posted 20 May 2016, 11:26 a.m. Suggest removal

CatIslandBoy says...

Amen!!!!! I second that. No one suggested that the power was turned off because of economic struggles. ACP Dean said the house was experiencing "technical issues".

Posted 20 May 2016, 1:46 p.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

Did Brave turn on all of the thousands of disconnected homes before BPL took over ?? ......... If so, then I stand corrected ...... This is the reality of many ordinary families throughout this country ...... Do I buy food .. or fix my car.. or pay my bills ... or go to the doctor... or pay insurance ... or take care of my outside kids???? ... THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!!!!!!

Posted 20 May 2016, 4:28 p.m. Suggest removal

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