Blake Oser and his parents handed out carbon monoxide detectors to passerbys Thursday in the Northgate area, hoping to raise awareness and spur prevention. They know first hand the dangers of the highly toxic gas. Sterling Kyle Oser, Blake’s older brother, was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in an apartment at 528 E. State St. on Saturday afternoon. Kyle’s death was accidental, caused by a natural gas space heater in a small, unventilated room, according to Sgt. Don Kelly, Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman. Lyric Cox, Kyle’s girlfriend and renter of the apartment, was found with Kyle and is currently in the ICU at West Jefferson Hospital, where she is expected to survive. The carbon monoxide level in Oser’s blood was 60 percent, according to Don Moreau, chief of operations for the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office. A normal level is between 0 and 2 percent.Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas created from any burning fuel. When breathed in, carbon monoxide is absorbed by the blood, preventing the body from using oxygen properly. Common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, seizures, cardiac arrest and respiratory failure. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, about 170 people in the U.S. die every year from carbon monoxide produced by non-automotive consumer products, like space heaters. The space heater in Cox’s bedroom, where she and Oser were found, was built into a wall. Cox’s apartment had four space heaters total, but the only one in use on Saturday was in the bedroom, Lee Cox, Lyric’s brother, said. Barry Mounce, assistant to the Fire Chief, said every winter the fire department deals with several incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning. “If [a space heater] is working properly, it will not produce carbon monoxide,” Mounce said. If the flame in a space heater is not a clear blue color, there is potential for carbon monoxide poisoning to occur, Mounce said.  When burning correctly, space heaters produce carbon dioxide. When burning incorrectly, a space heater will produce carbon monoxide. The change between the two can happen quickly, Mounce said, so it is important to regularly inspect space heaters and avoid using them in unventilated rooms and overnight. “The No. 1 thing [you] can do is to get a carbon monoxide detector,” Mounce said. “It works like a smoke detector. It will provide you a level of safety — it’s the absolute best thing [you] can do.”Lee Cox said his sister had installed a carbon monoxide detector in the living room area of her apartment. Since her bedroom door was closed, the carbon monoxide that filled her bedroom did not reach the alarm. A memorial service for Kyle Oser, a Mandeville native, was held in Covington on Monday. His close-knit group of friends and family were in attendance.”[Kyle] was always cheerful,” Blake Oser said. “I couldn’t tell you one person who didn’t like him.”Oser was a general studies senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He and Cox began dating shortly before she moved to Baton Rouge from New York on Jan. 2. Cox spent last summer in South Africa helping children diagnosed with AIDS and worked with AmeriCorps. She plans to major in psychology, Lee Cox said. Lee Cox said Lyric is undergoing treatment in a hyperbaric chamber, slowly restoring oxygen to her body. She suffered a small heart attack on Saturday but is now stable and responsive, though on a ventilator. Lee said the timeline for her recovery is indefinite, but she has made improvements over the past few days. Lee said they are still not sure to what extent her brain is functioning. —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]