‘Another 10 more minutes and we would have lost all three of them’

WASILLA — That Joseph Hubbard, 28, is punctual may have saved his life.

When the young man was a few minutes late to work Nov. 7, his employers Mark and Spencer Kotter from Wasilla Woodworks in Wasilla knew immediately something was wrong.

Kotter was worried when he couldn’t reach Joseph or his wife, Angela, on the phone and called a family member who lives nearby to hurry over and check, according to Angela’s father, Rick Townsend.

“When he was 15 minutes late for work he had everyone heading to the house because they knew something was wrong,” he said. “Another 10 more minutes and we would have lost all three of them.”

After the Kotters’ call, Donna Eng said she rushed to her granddaughter’s house where she found Joe and Angela unconscious inside. She hurried her great-granddaughter outside and called 911, she said. Becca, then 4, was inside, but was still conscious, Eng said.

About five minutes after Eng, the Kotters arrived, Eng said. Dispatch had directed her to move Angela from the bed to the floor and begin chest compressions, but Eng said she was physically unable to move her granddaughter.

But when the Kotters arrived, she said Mark moved the young woman to the floor and began compressions. Meanwhile, Eng said she stayed with Becca, who was crying in the car.

Emergency crews were called to respond to the residence around 9 a.m., Nov. 7. Angela, 24, died of severe carbon monoxide poisoning, and Joseph, Becca, Eng, both Kotters and the Hubbards’ dog Hunter also were treated for CO poisoning.

“If Mark hadn’t known something was wrong it could have been a whole lot worse,” Townsend said in an interview Wednesday at the family’s Settler’s Bay home.

Angela’s mother, Lori Townsend, said the rapid response from emergency crews likely saved lives that day. Of the others poisoned in the incident, Joe’s condition was the most serious.

“We want to thank everyone for saving Joe,” she said.

Joe was released from a Seattle hospital last week, where he was transported for hyperbaric treatments to remove the CO from his bloodstream. He was flown by emergency helicopter from the scene, first to Providence Alaska Medical Center and then on to Seattle for further treatment.

“He’s making incredible progress,” Townsend said of his son-in-law, who is expected to make a full recovery. “CO attacks so many parts of the body, it’s just a miracle he’s going to be fine.”

‘It’s unbelievable how the people in this town are’

The family — the Townsends and Joe’s parents, Tammy and Sammy Hubbard of Big Lake — asked the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman for help saying thank you to the many neighbors who reached out to the family in the wake of this tragedy.

“This community is pretty special to us. The support that we got really helped get us through it,” he said. “It’s unbelievable how the people in this town are.”

The family called on Mat-Su Mechanical to survey the home on South Krysten Circle after the incident to determine the source of the CO.

There is no way the house is sellable with the old boiler in it, he told Mat-Su Mechanical owner Mark Alderman.

He said his son-in-law will likely be mired in medical bills for years from the incident and adding a new heating system to that stack of bills would strap the family financially for years.

“Anything you can do to help me with the price I will appreciate,” Townsend said he told Alderman.

Many times since his daughter’s death, Townsend said their family has been overwhelmed by the community’s kindness. But Alderman’s reply was beyond anything the grieving father could have expected.

“How does free sound,” Alderman said.

“That just about buckled my knees,” Townsend said, retelling the story later. “We can’t recommend Mat-Su Mechanical more highly. They certainly care about this community.”

And there’s more. This time from the owners of Hula Hands Restaurant at Mile 49, Parks Highway, one the Hubbards favorite places to eat. The restaurant catered the reception after Angela’s funeral service Nov. 19. Birch Harbor Baptist Church on Knik-Goose Bay Road offered to host her funeral service after the Hubbards’ home church, Independent Baptist Church in Big Lake, wasn’t big enough.

“We can’t thank them enough,” Townsend said of Pastor Douglas and Linda Ferrett, who lead the Independent Baptist Church in Big Lake. “They were with us every step of the way.”

The family also wishes to thank people who sent flowers to the memorial service, as well as a local chiropractor who wrote off a chunk of debt the family owed.

‘Pay attention to that beep’

Also due thanks are the Alaska State Troopers, and not just for the way they handled the situation that tragic Thursday and in the days to come.

Angela had planned a birthday party for Becca a week before her actual birthday so her cousins could be there to celebrate, too.

When Trooper Joshua Varys found out about Becca’s canceled party he organized a toy drive, Townsend said. Several troopers also showed up at the Townsend’s home to make the special delivery, he said.

“You talk about above and beyond the call of duty. I was very impressed,” Townsend said.

If any good can come out of Angela’s death, Townsend said he hopes the family will get a call someday from someone saying the CO detector they installed because of their story saved another family.

“Believe it. If that alarm goes off, get the heck out and call the fire department,” he said. “You can’t see or smell it; pay attention to that beep.”

The inspection of the home found that several factors combined to create the perfect, deadly storm. If any one of those factors had been different, the outcome might have been, too, Townsend said.

“Definitely the hardest thing we’ve ever gone through,” he said. “You aren’t supposed to be burying your children.”

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.