“…the hotel, which was originally built in 2000, never applied for a permit, nor did they seek an inspection of the new pool water heater…State 
law requires a permit if businesses perform any alteration to indoor plumbing or heating…An 11-year-old Rock Hill boy died in room 225 at the Best Western Plus in Boone in early June. The toxicology report states the concentration of carbon monoxide in his blood was greater than 60-percent…An elderly couple staying in the same room died in April of carbon monoxide poisoning…”
Authorities in Boone say the Best Western Plus replaced the pool’s water heater without applying for a permit or requesting an inspection. The town of Boone Planning and Inspection Department says the Best Western Plus, the hotel where three people died of carbon monoxide poisoning, replaced the pool water heater in 2006.
The Planning and Inspection Department says the town is discussing having the fire department check all area hotels to ensure there are no other pool water heaters that have been replaced without their knowledge. Officials say this will be implemented in the near future.
Room 225 is directly above a storage room where pool chemicals are housed, and the pool’s water heating system lives. Authorities have blamed deficiencies in the natural gas water heater and the storage room’s ventilation system for the poisonous gas seeping into the guestroom directly above.
