Nitrogen Kills 2 in Nursing Home

Two nursing home residents in Bellbrook died and eight others were hospitalized, apparently after a nitrogen tank was mistakenly hooked up to the home’s oxygen system, authorities said. The stricken residents had all been on an oxygen system at the 84-bed Carriage-by-the-Lake nursing home about 10 miles from Dayton, said Bob Miles, a Washington Township assistant fire chief. “There was a nitrogen tank hooked into the oxygen system. It was labeled as having nitrogen in the tank,” Miles said. Nitrogen displaces oxygen and can cause asphyxia, Miles said. Miles said one resident died at the nursing home, and another resident, a 75-year-old woman, died at a hospital. Three patients were reported in critical condition, and the five others were in less serious condition, Miles said.