Cook County Law Enforcement received an unusual emergency call from campers along the Superior Hiking Trail at 3:43 a.m. on Saturday, August 14. Joseph Olsen, 17, of Finlayson, MN, reported that a member of his party, Mark Kenneth Bruns, of Hinckley, MN, was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Olsen said Bruns had been sleeping on a top bunk and he appeared to be having trouble breathing. His camp mates had a hard time waking him up. When the emergency call was made, they had Bruns outside of the cabin, but he was still struggling to breathe.
Cook County Ambulance and Tofte First Responders were paged and headed to the scene. Tofte First Responders were first on the scene at 4:22 a.m. after locating the structure where the men were camping. They were sleeping in a shed on a privately-owned 40-acre parcel on LeVeaux Mountain. They had apparently been using a lantern inside the shed before going to bed. Tofte EMS Director Louise Trachta said they had turned off the lantern, but carbon monoxide had built up in rafters of the poorly ventilated building.
Trachta said carbon monoxide keeps the blood from getting oxygen and all three men showed some signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. However, Bruns was in the worst shape and required oxygen.
Because of the difficulty reaching the men, “straight up a deer trail,” Tofte responders called for assistance in getting the men out. Lutsen First Responders and members of the Cook County Sheriff ’s Response Unit (SRU) also responded. A four-wheeler with a Stokes basket, a special litter designed for trail transport, was used to bring Bruns and the necessary oxygen tanks to the Cook County ambulance.
He was transported to Cook County North Shore Hospital where he was treated and released.
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