Couple dies of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by generator in Portage, Indiana

A man and woman were found dead in Portage, Indiana, this past weekend from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a generator.

At 10:20 a.m. this past Saturday, the Portage Fire Department and the Porter County Coroner's Office were called to Lakeshore Camp Resort in Portage. Salvatore Fogu, 68, and his wife, Deborah Fogu, 65, were found dead at the scene, according to the coroner's office.

The Palos Hills couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator, the coroner's office said.

The fire department said six other people were also inside the home at the time. They were taken to the hospital and are expected to be OK.

Loved ones say the couple built a large, loving, blended family. Salvatore was the father of nine kids. 

The Portage Fire Department says they had a generator under a window-mounted A/C unit that likely blew deadly fumes inside.

"We've done things as a city to get information out about how to properly handle a generator. But in a storm like this, it really makes you realize there is a lot of education that we got to do to make sure people know," said Portage Mayor Austin Bonta.

Bonta says the city is using the tragedy to remind residents that if they use a generator:

• Keep them outside.
• Make sure they are 20 feet away from the home.
• Install carbon monoxide detectors on every floor.
• Test detectors to see if they are working.

"If you are feeling nauseous or feel like you are getting a headache or signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure that you are watching for that, especially if you are running a generator," Bonta said.

A rash of storms on Thursday night brought at least 13 tornadoes to Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana and caused widespread power outages.

John Schoen with ComEd says 675,000 customers lost power last week—the biggest storm since the 2020 derecho.

He says they are positioning crews ahead of Wednesday's storms to respond to outages faster.

"We can start putting poles, and cables, and transformers into areas where we believe the storm is going to be the most impactful," he said.

"At this point, we still have a few neighborhoods that are without power," Bonta said.

The Northern Indiana Public Service Company, or NIPSCO, says about 3,000 residents are without power across all northwest Indiana, including Portage.    

Some roads, including Old Porter Road, remain closed. Residents are hoping for the best as another round of severe storms is expected on Wednesday.