By Marcelle Dibrell

A Texas man whose family died from carbon monoxide poisoning is suing the companies he believes are responsible for the faulty installation of a pool heater.

Brett Kirk lost his wife, Amy, 52, and their two sons, William, 22, and John, 17, on June 11, 2025, after a recently installed pool heater filled their home with the deadly gas.

Now, the widower has filed a lawsuit against the companies involved in the heater’s installation.

The lawsuit names Duran Pools & Spas, Inc., East Texas Home Inspection Services, LLC, Hayward Holdings, Inc., J.B. Crawford Construction, LLC, and Perry Propane & Appliances, LLC as being proximately responsible.

The Kirks, who owned a home in Houston, purchased a second property in Nacogdoches in 2024, according to county tax records. Neighbors said the family had been fixing it up to use as a permanent residence.

Their accidental deaths appear to be the result of a domino effect of oversights, procedural lapses, and missed warnings — each small failure compounding into catastrophe.

Hayward Universal HC 400DF is shipped with the natural gas orifice installed. Using propane fuel while connected to the natural gas orifice causes exponentially higher levels of deadly carbon monoxide. See story on page 1. CO

From page 1

According to court documents, the first misstep occurred during the home inspection prior to purchase, when the family hired East Texas Home Inspection Services (ETHI) to identify any safety issues. At that time, the inspection failed to flag two key hazards that later proved fatal: namely, that the existing pool heater was located on a concrete pad far too close to the structure of the home, in violation of NFPA Chapter 58, and that there were massive failures in the A/C duct system, including “huge holes in the system,” the complaint states.

Following the purchase, the Kirks hired several companies to perform improvements, including work on the pool area.

Duran Pools & Spas was contracted to install a new pool heater. According to filings, Duran was specifically told the heater must run on propane, since an above-ground propane tank already existed at the residence. Duran indicated that a propaneburning heater would be delivered and installed.

Instead, Duran purchased a Hayward Universal HC 400DF and installed it in nearly the same location as the old unit — too close to the house, again violating NFPA Chapter 58.

J.B. Crawford Construction connected the propane tank to the heater despite its improper placement. Perry Propane then supplied fuel to the system.

Meanwhile, the new heater itself was configured to run on natural gas. According to the complaint, the heater “had the incorrect orifice (mixer) installed such that it should only be fed by natural gas.

However, when the propane tank was connected, the pool heater was fueled solely by propane gas … The use of this natural gas orifice while connected to the propane fuel source caused the generation of exponentially higher levels of deadly carbon monoxide.”

The lawsuit further alleges: “There exists in the Hayward pool heater at issue a carbon monoxide hazard related to the gas conversion procedure, but Defendant Hayward failed to adequately warn about this known hazard.

Indeed, Hayward is the only pool heater manufacturer that offers a dual-fuel unit such as the one installed at the Kirk house.

The heater is shipped from the factory with the natural gas orifice already installed.”

Adding to the danger, one of the home’s four air handler units was located in a closet near where the heater was installed.

The heater itself sat beneath an overhang containing two soffit vents designed to draw outside air into the home.

“Inexcusably, no Defendant raised concerns about the potential risk in installing a pool heater that, configured correctly or not, releases a deadly gas as a by-product of its normal operation directly under soffit vents,” the complaint reads.

On June 11, 2025, Amy and her two sons, William and John, spent the night at the house after working there all day.

That evening, the newly installed heater inexplicably turned on while the family slept.

By morning, the pool water had been heated to 97 degrees — and all three were dead in their beds.

The odorless gas had vented directly into the home, silently killing them.

Brett Kirk and his surviving daughter, Eliza, are now seeking damages in excess of $50 million. The lawsuit stands out for both its catastrophic circumstances and unprecedented size.

The complaint alleges:

• “East Texas Inspections was negligent twice in its inspection process by failing to identify the severe hazards with the air system and heater placement.”

• “Crawford negligently connected the propane gas line to the pool heater, which was configured for natural gas.”

• “Duran Pools negligently failed to convert the pool heater from natural gas to propane and placed the pool heater too close to the residence.”

• “Hayward negligently labeled and instructed the installation of its heaters, and failed to account for the widespread, foreseeable misuse of its products.”

The lawsuit was filed on August 14, 2025, in Harris County District Court. The defendants have not yet filed responses.