Nearly two weeks after carbon monoxide killed two people in a New Jersey recording studio and sickened 12 others in a converted factory building in New Jersey, the family of one of the victims is announcing a fight to have the state require carbon monoxide detectors in certain buildings.
Raymond Korman lost his son, 39-year-old Noel Korman, in the Dec. 6 poisoning in Passaic. Noel's girlfriend Alice Park, 29, also died. Both of them lived in Clifton.
Korman says he's haunted by the fact that the deaths were preventable.
"This should never have happened," he said.
Twelve other people inside the building "experienced confusion and were choking" as they tried to leave the building, according to officials. They were all treated at local hospitals.
Alice was outgoing and friendly, and Noel was a talented skateboarder, surfer and snowboarder who turned his passion into an apparel business, his father said.
"That was his passion, skateboarding," said Korman. "Anyone who was anyone in skateboarding knows him."
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Technicians from PSE&G said the cause of the gas leak hasn't been determined. Carbon monoxide typically leaks when a device isn't burning all of its fuel, said Karen Johnson, a spokesperson for the utility.
Firefighters say there is no law in New Jersey requiring a multi-use building like the one in Passaic to have a carbon monoxide detector. Korman said he was "totally shocked" when he found out that detectors weren't required.
He says he wants to change things, and is supporting lawmakers who want to require commercial, industrial and school buildings to have carbon monoxide detectors. He acknowledges it's going to be a long fight, but he can't bear to see the tragedy repeat itself.
"It's too late for us, but there are probably a lot of other families that it will affect in the future, and I wouldn't want them to suffer in the same way," he said.
The bill would require the buildings to have CO detectors installed within 90 days. Lawmakers plan to introduce versions of the bill in the state senate and house.
