Methane Gas from Cow Manure, Claims Five Lives in VA

Scott Showalter, 34, had cleared the clogged pipe in his dairy farm's manure pit a hundred times. This time when he climbed in to unplug the clog, the deadly methane gas that filled the pit claimed his life, along with the lives of four others that struggled to aid him. According to an article written by Dionne Walker for Associated Press on Tuesday, those who died along with Scott Showalter were his wife Phyillis, 33, oldest daughter Shayla, 11, Christina, 9, and 24 year old Amous Stoltzfus who worked on the Mennonite's dairy farm near Bridgeford, Va.

Emergency workers speculated that Scott Showalter had entered the manure pit first, to unclog a plugged pipe that drained the manure into another pit when he was immediately overcome by the deadly gas. Amous Stoltzfus who worked for the family attempted to rescue Showalter and was also overcome. The three female members of the family were outside the milking barn when they heard the commotion and one by one they entered the pit to assist the others. All five people including the two girls were found dead inside.

"It was a domino effect, with one person going in and the second going in after them." Rockingham County Sheriff, Don Farley told Associated Press. "It was probably something he had done at least one hundred times. This time when Showalter climbed in there was gas in there and he immediately succumbed."

Sonny Layman another farm hand who also worked for the Showalter family on their dairy farm appeared visibly shaken. Layman said that he had tried to save Phyillis by hooking her onto a grate and pulling her up. "I tried to hook her but I couldn't do it, Layman said. "It's in the Lord's hands."

It appeared that Showalter had tried to transfer manure from one small pit to a larger one measuring approximately 20' by 20' and 8' deep. The pipe used to transfer the liquid manure became clogged as it sometimes did. Scott climbed in to unclog it to fix the transfer as he sometimes had to do. Sheriff Don Farley speculated that after Phyillis had gone in after Scott, farm-hand Amous Stoltzfus went in to rescue her and the girls then followed to simply see if they could help.

Methane gas is an odorless, colorless by-product of liquefied cow manure. The Showalter's manure pit was almost entirely enclosed and poorly ventilated.

The two story off white farm house sat alone with it's black shutters surrounding the windows. Next to the house was a neat garden with a clothesline strung up nearby with clothes still fluttering in the wind.

Family and friends came to the modern dairy farm on Tuesday morning to milk the 103 cows and to repair the clogged line in the manure pit. There are more than 6000 Mennonites in some 40 churches in Rockingham County, Virginia in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley. The Showalters belonged to a church in a branch of Mennonites whose members shun many of the modern day trappings but they do drive cars and have telephones in their homes. The Showalters maintained a modern dairy operation.

"It's a tight community," Sheriff Farley told Associated Press, "They will be ministering and counseling each other. They have a strong faith that will help them through this." The Showalter's also have two younger daughters who survive them.

Sources used in this article are as follows: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070703/ap_on_re_us/methane_deaths;_ylt=AuXTAB5qUydFI3qPOAAV18RvzwcF