SHAMOKIN - The furnace wasn't working in the house where a city woman was found suffering from hypothermia and rushed to the hospital Monday, according to the city code officer.
Ellen Jackson, 66, of 602 Spurzheim St., died in the emergency room at Geisinger-Shamokin Area Community Hospital (G-SACH), where her body temperature was recorded at 81 degrees.
Northumberland County Coroner James F. Kelley reported the death Thursday and said in a press release it was due to "hypothermia and other pre-existing medical conditions."
Kelley offered a few more details by phone Thursday. He said he's waiting for results of other testing, but the immediate cause of death is the hypothermia.
The circumstances of Jackson's death are being investigated by Kelley and other officials, who are sorting through what they said is some conflicting information as to her living conditions.
Hypothermia occurs when the body temperature drops below 95 from its normal of 98.6, indicating Jackson's temperature was extremely low by the time she reached the hospital.
Monday was among the coldest days in what has been a stretch of unusually cold temperatures. The National Weather Service said Monday's high was 9 and low was -9.
Building condemned
Shamokin Police Chief Darwin Tobias III said Jackson was transported to G-SACH by EMS workers. Kelley said Jackson arrived at the hospital between 10 and 11 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 1:50 p.m.
While Jackson's address is listed as 602 Spurzheim St., EMS was dispatched to 600 Spurzheim St. Those two addresses and 604 Spurzheim St. make up a triple home.
"We don't know if (Jackson) lived at 600 or at 602," Kelley said. "We are getting conflicting reports from family members."
Shamokin Code Officer Rick Bozza said Jackson's daughter, Mary Geise, and her husband, Don, are listed as residents of 600 Spurzheim St.
Bozza said all three homes will be condemned today. He would have done it right away Thursday, he said, but gave the Geises time to remove belongings.
"The home is being condemned due to no heat in the residence and the conditions of the home's interior," Bozza said.
He said each of the three homes had its own furnace, but was told by Don Geise furnaces at 600 and 602 were broken. The home at 604 Spurzheim St. has been vacant for a significant period of time.
"All other utilities were on at the time," Bozza said of the occupied homes.
Renting to own
The home is owned by Jim Bressi, of Paxinos, who said he wasn't aware of the death until contacted by a reporter Thursday.
Bressi said the Geise family had a "installment sales agreement," or "rent-to-own" arrangement, with him for the triple home for a number of years.
He said the furnaces were oil heat and that, according to the agreement, the Geises were responsible for all repairs and heating costs.
Bressi said he learned later Thursday the Geises may not have been living at 600 Spurzheim St. Bozza reported the same information.
Several attempts to reach Don Geise Thursday were unsuccessful.
Kelley said investigators cannot get into Jackson's home without a subpoena because EMS was dispatched to her daughter's address and not her's.
Kelley said an autopsy was performed Wednesday at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, by forensic pathologist Dr. Barbara Bollinger.
He said he didn't know what the temperature might have been in the house when Jackson was found.
It's the first known death related to cold weather in the city in recent history that didn't involve someone being exposed to the elements.
What is Hypothermia?
The Mayo Clinic website defines hypothermia as a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature. Normal body temperature is around 98.6 degrees. Hypothermia occurs when body temperature passes below 95.
When body temperature drops, the heart, nervous system and other organs can't work normally. Left untreated, hypothermia can lead to complete failure of the heart and respiratory system and death.
Hypothermia is most often caused by exposure to cold weather or immersion in a cold body of water. Kelley said early signs of hypothermia can be shivering and mental confusion.
Primary treatments for hypothermia are methods to warm the body back to a normal temperature.