What started as a routine cleaning job in Michigan ended in tragedy after two young men were overcome by toxic gas while working beneath a home’s porch.
Authorities say the incident happened Tuesday, Feb. 17, at a home on Cribbins Road in Clyde Township. Deputies with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports that two men had fallen unconscious while “working on a well.”
When officers arrived, they immediately noticed a strong chemical odor in the air.
Investigators later determined that a chemical reaction created hydrogen sulfide gas inside the confined space beneath the porch. The gas quickly overwhelmed 21-year-old Michael Kammer Jr. and 20-year-old Daniel Hagle.
Emergency crews from the Clyde Township Fire Department, Tri-Hospital EMS, the county’s Emergency Management Team, and the Hazmat Team rushed to the scene. Deputies initially had to pull back because of the powerful fumes until firefighters arrived with protective equipment.
Both men were transported to a nearby hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Several first responders were also decontaminated as a precaution.
According to St. Clair County Sheriff Matt King, Hagle died trying to save his coworker.
“He saw his partner go down,” King told WXYZ. “He was unresponsive to him calling for him, and he tried to get him out of the well. When he went in there, he was then in that confined space, and he was overwhelmed by the gases as well.”
Officials say muriatic acid was being used to clean the well — a job Kammer had reportedly done since he was a teenager. In this case, authorities believe the acid reacted with a mineral or chemical inside the well, releasing the deadly hydrogen sulfide gas.
“This has been apparently a substance they used in the past,” King explained. “But this was a confined space, so when the acid interacted with a mineral or chemical in that well, it off-gassed.”
Three additional coworkers were hospitalized after being exposed to the toxic fumes but survived.
Kammer’s mother, Jenny, described the devastating moment she saw her son at the hospital.
“I collapsed. I couldn’t breathe … I just froze,” she told WXYZ. “No mother should have ever had to see that. He didn’t have any clothes on. They brought him out naked because of all the chemicals on his clothing from the well.”
GoFundMe pages have been created to help support both families, raising more than $31,000 combined so far.
The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Detective Bureau is continuing to investigate what led to the deadly chemical reaction.
Discover more from True News Media
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.