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Sleepover Quickly Turned Tragic

WIVB Story Published January 17, 2009

West Seneca Teenager Dies from Carbon Monoxide

Published: Saturday, 17 Jan 2009, 7:13 PM EST

By: Rob Macko (WIVB)

WEST SENECA, N.Y. - A night of fun quickly turned tragic in West Seneca.

A local teenager is dead and another is recovering after being overwhelmed by carbon monoxide.

Authorities believe it's a deadly case of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The girls were sleeping next to the boiler room for the home's baseboard heating system.
Emergency crews rushed to the home of Borys and Diane Sharvan on Windmill Road in West Seneca for a report of two unresponsive 16-year-old girls.

"The last time anybody talked to them was approximately 2 a.m. when they came upstairs to get something to eat. They were having a sleepover, 16 year-old girls, and that was the last time the father talked to them and then they were discovered about 8:30 in the morning in the basement," said Lt. David Szmania of the West Seneca Police Department.

Not sure of the cause, authorities called National Fuel, which found high carbon monoxide readings. Police say there were no carbon monoxide detectors in the house.

Chris Boltz, Chief of Reserve Fire Company, said, "The two girls were sleeping in an enclosed basement with the door closed, the house had a boiler in it, so it wouldn't have circulated through rest of the house as quickly as it would have sat in the basement."

Both girls were taken to South Buffalo Mercy Hospital. 16-year-old Amanda Hansen was pronounced dead about an hour later.16-year-old Devon Sharvan survived. Sharvan's parents and 13-year-old brother Alexander were also taken to the hospital and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Both girls attended West Seneca West High School and were on the swim team. They also swam for the West Seneca Sharks.

"You kind of want to believe you woke up in a nightmare, it was just the worst, one of the worst things you can experience as an educator," said West Seneca West Principal, Jon MacSwan. MacSwan says a grief counselor spoke to some of Amanda Hansen's teammates today. Additional counselors will be brought in Tuesday when students return from the Martin Luther King Junior holiday. MacSwan says Amanda was an honor student athlete who made the school a better place.

"I pass about 1,400 students every day and she was one that I always make sure I go out of my way to say hello to and she always had that smile and just a genuinely happy, wonderful young lady," said MacSwan.

National Fuel says homeowners should check their heating systems every year and make sure they have working carbon monoxide detectors.

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