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| Proforma Safety, LLC Proforma PSI…when performance counts. Man dies; wife, son are hurt by fumes By Matthew Walberg An Orland Park man is dead and his wife and son remained hospitalized after toxic fumes filled their home Tuesday during an attempt to clear a clogged drain. Gerald Carlton Jr., 47, of the 10300 block of Hilltop Drive was pronounced dead at 8:55 a.m. Tuesday in Palos Community Hospital in Palos Heights. Muriel Carlton, 49, was listed in good condition in Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, and Matthew Carlton, 22, was being treated in Palos Community Hospital. His condition could not be determined. Firefighters responded to a 911 call from the yellow, ranch-style home shortly before 8 a.m. They were met with a cloud of toxic fumes, similar to chlorine gas, when they entered the house, said Orland Fire Protection District Lt. Daniel Smith. "Our preliminary investigation indicates that Mr. Carlton was attempting to clear a clogged sink in his kitchen and was using a number of chemicals to do that," said Orland Park Police Cmdr. Chuck Doll. "There was a reaction, which caused the vapors." Gerald Carlton was in cardiac arrest when firefighters arrived. An autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday. Investigators recovered a container of professional-grade sulfuric acid, a bottle of Liquid Plumr and a container of Comet Cleanser with Bleach. "My understanding is that the husband was doing the procedure and his son was in the kitchen with him," Doll said. Muriel Carlton was reportedly in a different room of the home. The fumes also sent five firefighters and a student paramedic to the hospital for treatment after they had trouble breathing. Orland Fire Protection District Chief Donald Bettenhausen said all were expected to be treated and released.
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