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Fumes Kill Man, Then Mourners   

Milwaukee (AP) - Deadly fumes from a faulty furnace killed a man last week and then claimed the lives
of three relatives who stayed at this home to plan his funeral, authorities said Monday. The relatives
had known nothing about the furnace problem.

The death Wednesday of Edward G. Zarnow, 89, at his home in the suburb of Greendale originally
was blamed on a heart attack.  Authorities said they did not conduct an autopsy because they had no
reason to suspect that his death had been caused by lethal fumes from the basement furnace.

But carbon monoxide poisoning caused the deaths Sunday of Zarnow's son from Australia, his
granddaughter and the granddaughter's husband.  A duaghter-in-law from Australia is in critical
condition in a hospital.

Medical Examiner Jeffrey Jentzen of Milwaukee County said Monday that an autopsy of the elder
Zarnow conducted after his four relatives were found showed that he had a high concentration of the
carbon monoxide in his blood.

Jentzen identified the relatives as Michael Martin, 38, of Marshfield, Wis.; his wife, Karen, 37; and
Edward C. Zarnow Jr., 57, of New South Wales, Australia.  Edward C. Zarnow's wife, Rebecca, 56,
also of Australia, is in critical condition at St. Lukes Medical Center in Milwaukee.

Wisconsin Natural Gas spokesman Paul Markovina said investigators discovered the gas furnace's
regulator was maladjusted, causing too much gas to go into the furnace.


An excerpt from "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch".