Police confirm model Dayle Haddon died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Here’s how to keep your home safe.
More than 400 Americans die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning every year, which sends another 100,000 to the emergency room, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Solebury Township police determined Saturday that actor and model Dayle Haddon died of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty flue and exhaust pipe at the Phillips Mill Road residence where she was staying.
The leak in the gas heating system also left a man semiconscious when police found him on the farmhouse property Friday. The man, who was taken to a hospital in New Jersey for treatment, was identified Saturday as Walter J. Blucas, 76, of Erie. Both Blucas and Haddon were staying in a “detached office/in-law suite” on the property.
Solebury police said Blucas was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for treatment. A spokesperson for the hospital would not provide information on his condition.
Blucas shares a last name with Marc Blucas, an actor who owns the Bucks County property where Haddon and Blucas were found. Marc Blucas is married to Haddon’s daughter, Ryan Haddon, and is known for the Netflix series My Life with the Walter Boys and for playing opposite Katie Holmes in the movie First Daughter.
Dayle Haddon, 76, was born in Montreal. She appeared on many magazine covers, including Vogue Paris, Cosmopolitan, and Sports Illustrated.
In the early 1970s, she turned her attention to acting, and appeared on screen in The World’s Greatest Athlete, Cheaters, and Bullets Over Broadway, among other credits.
Haddon became the face of L’Oréal’s antiaging products and wrote Ageless Beauty: A Woman’s Guide to Lifelong Beauty and Well-Being, a guide to help women over 40 embrace their age.
She was also a UNICEF ambassador who traveled to Darfur, Haiti, Bolivia, and other places to help women and children on behalf of UNICEF and other organizations.
How can carbon monoxide kill?
“This tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of carbon monoxide safety precautions in our homes,” Solebury Chief of Police Kelley D. Warner said.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas often known as a “silent killer” that is present in the fumes created by burning. Many household items — including gas- and oil-burning furnaces, portable generators, and charcoal grills — can produce carbon monoxide.
More than 400 Americans each year die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, which sends 100,000 more to the emergency room, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 14,000 Americans are hospitalized every year as a result of their exposures. Many deaths and injuries take place in the winter months, when people are more likely to use gas furnaces and heaters.
Carbon monoxide — or CO — is deadly because it binds to the part of blood cells that transports oxygen around the body, which deprives vital organs of the oxygen they need to function.
Tips to stay safe
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recommends that every household install CO monitors on every floor and near each bedroom, and replace the batteries every six months. Other tips include:
Service furnaces and water heaters every year.
Inspect and sweep chimneys every year.
Place generators at least 20 feet from a home.
Don’t let snow block car exhaust.
Don’t leave a car engine running in a garage or other closed areas.
Don’t use camping appliances indoors, or use a gas oven or burn charcoal to heat a home.
Remembering Dayle Haddon
Ryan Haddon paid tribute to her mother on Instagram early Saturday, noting: “She was a woman in her power, yet soft and attentive to all. Deeply creative and curious, gifted with beauty inside and out. Always kind and thoughtful.”
Dayle Haddon was “an inspiration to many,” her daughter said. “She held so many up, saw their greatness sometimes hidden to them, and always built bridges with her own connections to help them ascend. She was everyone’s greatest champion.”
Adding that “there are no accidents,” Ryan Haddon ended her post wishing her mother to “rest in light.”
A historic property
Marc Blucas has spoken frequently about his historic property, which was built in 1711. In a 2016 interview with Hallmark, he said he bought the house to be closer to family and wanted to fix it up.
There were other reasons he chose Pennsylvania, he said. “It’s the only part of the United States that has that kind of architecture, with old stone barns, old stone houses.” He said the property at the time was home to 15 chickens, as well as rabbits, dogs, and cats.
According to US Weekly, Blucas and Ryan Haddon moved to Pennsylvania in 2012. He has posted frequently about his renovation projects on Instagram.