Tag Archives: Carbon Monoxide

by | February 6, 2012 · 8:23 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: South Carolina Hotel's Swimming Pool Heater May Have Been Leaking Carbon Monoxide For Weeks Prior To Guest's Death

Investigators say the hotel’s swimming pool heater leaked carbon monoxide sometime during the night, killing Moran and injuring at least 17 others. Carbon monoxide readings at the hotel reached 500 and 600 parts per million, South Charleston Fire Chief Greg Petry said. Authorities say any reading over 30 parts per million is cause for concern.

“…(a guest)… speculated that his death was caused by the swimming pool before investigators confirmed that carbon monoxide leaked from the pool’s heater…”

Staff members at the Holiday Inn Express in South Charleston were aware of a problem with their swimming pool 10 days before an apparent carbon monoxide leak from the pool’s heater killed one and injured several others Tuesday, two Randolph County women said this week.

Lori Burnside, 40, of Montrose, and Danielle Mallow, 38, of Elkins, stayed at the Corridor G hotel with their two daughters on Jan. 21, but said they did not get any sleep because the hotel’s fire alarms kept them awake during the night.

The alarms were blamed on a problem with the indoor swimming pool, they said, which had to be constantly ventilated by the hotel staff.

For more:  http://wvgazette.com/News/201202040030?page=2&build=cache

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by | February 1, 2012 · 6:41 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Death Of West Virginia Hotel Guest On Fifth Floor From "Carbon Monixide Poisoning" Stresses Need For Carbon Monoxide Detectors

“…Firefighters reported high levels of carbon monoxide in the building, and the remaining guests and employees were evacuated. The gas filtered up to the fifth floor from a pool heater on the ground floor…”

The death of one man and grave condition of another has South Charleston City Council members thinking of requiring hotels to install carbon monoxide detectors. Mayor Frank Mullens was still gathering information Tuesday evening from city fire and police officers at the Holiday Inn Express along Corridor G.

A construction worker was found dead in his hotel room Tuesday morning when other members of his crew went to wake him. The man’s roommate was unresponsive and was taken to Charleston Area Medical Center’s General Hospital, where he was in critical condition Tuesday evening.

Two others were taken from the hotel to St. Francis Hospital.

Mullens said he never had heard of anything like it.

“From what I gather right now, we’re looking at a tragic accident,” the mayor said. “I’m just speechless. I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before in my life.”

The hotel, which opened in July 1999, had no carbon monoxide detectors, according to South Charleston Fire Chief Greg Petry.

State law requires all homes with gas appliances built after 1998 to have carbon monoxide detectors, but there is no such requirement for hotels. Petry said he didn’t know of a single hotel in the area with such detectors.

Mullens said the city follows state building code but the one regarding carbon monoxide detectors only in homes didn’t make any sense.

For more:  http://www.dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/201201310236

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by | January 31, 2012 · 10:16 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: West Virginia Hotel Evacuated After Carbon Monoxide Detected; One Guest Dies And Others Hospitalized

 

The Holiday Inn Express along Corridor G in South Charleston has been evacuated after carbon monoxide was detected inside the building.

Kanawha County 911 Dispatchers tell WSAZ.com a man was found dead in the hotel and three others taken to the hospital.

One man was seriously injured. The other two victims were taken to the hospital as a precaution.

 

A South Charleston Firefighter tells WSAZ.com the two men were found on the 5th floor of the hotel.

 

Firefighters say there were extremely high levels of carbon monoxide found on several floors of the hotel.

 

About 10 to 15 people were inside the hotel at the time of the evacuation.

 

Firefighters say the room where the two men were staying did not have a carbon monoxide detector. According to the Assistant Fire Chief, hotels are not required by law to have carbon monoxide detectors, only smoke detectors.

For more:  http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/BREAKING_NEWS__Body_Found_at_Local_Hotel_Building_Evacuated_After_Carbon_Monoxide_Detected_138404409.html?ref=409

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by | January 1, 2012 · 8:25 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Wisconsin Hotel Guests Hospitalized From "Carbon Monoxide Leak" As Swimming Pool Heating System Malfunctions

“…carbon monoxide levels of 800 parts per million were detected in the swimming pool area and 957 parts per million in a mechanical room where a heating system apparently malfunctioned, causing the leak…”

“…Levels of 9 parts per million usually will prompt officials to evacuate a building…”

As many as 16 people at a hotel near Lambeau Field were hospitalized Friday night after becoming ill from an apparent carbon monoxide leak, officials said. Battalion Chief Ed Jarosz of the Green Bay Fire Department said at least two of the victims were children who became ill in the swimming pool area at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1015 Lombardi Ave.

Two children were transported by ambulance, and 14 others were taken to a hospital by private vehicles, Jarosz said.

Children had been playing in the swimming pool area about 45 minutes before they began feeling sick, he said.

For more:  http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120101/GPG0101/201010565/Carbon-monoxide-leak-at-Hilton-Garden-Inn-in-Green-Bay-sends-16-to-hospital

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by | June 10, 2011 · 9:14 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Arkansas Hotel Evacuated After High Levels Of "Carbon Monoxide" Sickens Family Of Four; Traced To A Faulty Swimming Pool Heater

“…Fire Department officials say a North Little Rock hotel was evacuated after a family of four was hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning…traced to a faulty swimming pool heater…”

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Friday that Fire Department Capt. J.R. Pflasterer said the carbon monoxide was found at unsafe levels throughout the hotel Thursday He said it was traced to a faulty swimming pool heater.  Pflasterer said 64 people were forced to leave the Comfort Inn and Suites after the family went to a hospital about 8 a.m. He said about 10 of those evacuated reported headaches or dizziness.

Pflasterer said carbon monoxide levels returned to normal Thursday afternoon. The hotel’s telephone number was continually busy Friday morning, so it could not be learned when it would reopen.

For more:  http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/852f6fb07d9149cb9238e0adf171f81b/AR–Carbon-Monoxide-Ark-Hotel/

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by | May 1, 2011 · 8:38 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Maryland Hotel Guests Evacuated After Dangerous Levels Of Carbon Monoxide Are Generated By An "Improperly Functioning Pool Heater"

“…An improperly functioning pool heater was found to be generating the gas, and it was shut down…”

“…Monitoring equipment detected high levels of poisonous carbon monoxide gas in the air, prompting authorities to evacuate 30 motel occupants and take 11 of them to hospitals in Laurel and Columbia. All were released after evaluation…”

A Howard County motel was temporarily evacuated Saturday night after rescue personnel discovered high levels of potentially lethal carbon monoxide there, a county fire and rescue spokesman said.

Responders were called to the Sleep Inn on Second Street in North Laurel about 8:32 p.m. to check a report of a possible chemical leak, and found five children complaining of headaches and nausea, according to Battalion Chief Eric D. Proctor.

All the motel’s occupants were allowed to return to their rooms after the building was ventilated.

For more:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/bs-md-ho-motel-carbon-0501,0,3364397.story

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by | March 12, 2011 · 10:23 am

Hotel Industry Health Risks: New York Hotel Guests Are Evacuated After Exposure And Sickness Due To "Carbon Monixide" Coming From Heating Unit On Roof

Nine people were taken to a local hospital this morning following exposure to carbon monoxide that led to the evacuation of a West Seneca hotel.

Serafini called for more police and fire personnel, who found high levels of carbon monoxide in the lower levels of the five-story hotel. Authorities said they believe the carbon monoxide may have settled on the lower floors of the building.

Three other guests of the Hampton Inn on Ridge Road reported ill effects from their exposure to carbon monoxide. West Seneca police responded to a call at about 5:30 a.m. today, when the hotel’s front-desk manager told Officer Anthony Serafini that two people on the second floor were requesting a new room. They felt dizzy and faint and told hotel workers they thought fumes in their room were responsible. 70 guests staying there overnight.

National Fuel crews also responded and found the carbon monoxide coming from a heating unit on the hotel’s roof, police said. “I do not believe any of the injuries are going to be life-threatening,” West Seneca Police Lt. David L. Szmania said late this morning of the nine people taken to Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital.

After the problem was corrected, hotel workers ventilated the building, waited for about two hours and then allowed guests to return to their rooms by about 10 a.m., Szmania said.

The lieutenant praised the police midnight shift along with volunteer firefighters from the Seneca Hose, Winchester and Reserve Hose companies. “It could have definitely been worse,” Szmania said, referring to the January 2009 death of 16-year-old West Seneca resident Amanda Hansen from carbon-monoxide poisoning while she was sleeping over at a friend’s house.

For more:  http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/west-seneca/article365298.ece

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by | January 7, 2011 · 11:00 am

Hotel Industry Health And Safety Risk: San Francisco Hotel Guests Are Exposed To "Carbon Monoxide" That May Have Come From Outside Through Air Intake System

Fire officials believe the cause of the flu-like symptoms is carbon monoxide after measuring high levels of the potentially deadly gas, a San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman said.

“The hotel staff promptly contacted the fire department to assess the situation and assist with transporting the guests to area hospitals for treatment,” Singer said.

Investigators discovered that the air intake for the hotel is on the Stevenson Street side of the building so it draws air in from the outside, Talmadge said. “They’re thinking the carbon monoxide might have come from outside through their intake system.”

Four guests at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis fell ill late Thursday after being exposed to carbon monoxide in their downtown hotel rooms, authorities said. The four guests were flight attendants staying in four separate rooms at the hotel, located at the intersection of Fourth and Mission streets, hotel spokesman Sam Singer said.

The San Francisco Marriott Marquis issued the following statement today: “Early this morning four guests at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis complained of flu-like symptoms. The hotel staff promptly contacted the fire department to assess the situation and assist with transporting the guests to area hospitals for treatment.

The four guests were transported to San Francisco General Hospital and St. Francis Memorial Hospital where they “are now doing well,” Singer said.

“Initially we believed it to be the heating system in the rooms,” fire Lt. Mindy Talmadge said. “But after further investigation we determined it couldn’t be the heating system because they use a steam system which doesn’t use carbon monoxide.”

For more: http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=102638

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by | August 2, 2010 · 7:18 am

Hospitality Industry Health And Safety Risks: Hotel Owners Found Liable For $34 Million Resulting From Carbon Monoxide Leak Injuring 23 Employees At Hotel Restaurant

A Baltimore jury has awarded $34.3 million to 23 employees of an Inner Harbor steakhouse who suffered brain damage as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The plaintiffs worked for the Ruth’s Chris Steak House at the Pier V Hotel. The restaurant was evacuated on Feb. 2, 2008, after employees complained of dizziness and nausea. Carbon monoxide in the air was measured at potentially fatal levels.

Attorney Billy Murphy, who represented the plaintiffs, said Wednesday that the leak went on for weeks before the evacuation and that the hotel had removed a safety device that would have detected the problem.

The lawsuit named the hotel’s operator and owner. Murphy says Ruth’s Chris was not at fault.

Attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.

For more:   http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9H8A21O0.htm

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by | June 14, 2010 · 3:19 am

Hotel Industry Health And Safety Risks: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning At A New Hampshire Hotel Is Cited By OSHA As A “Correctable Situation”

“The employer did not implement feasible administrative or engineering controls to reduce or eliminate this exposure,” the citation says.

The state Fire Marshal’s Office and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are looking into a carbon monoxide leak at the Hilton Garden Inn in February that sickened 11 people.

The review includes city officials from the building and fire departments and is in addition to an inquiry the Occupational Safety and Health Administration did.

Hilton spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne described the fire marshal’s review as “educational” and said officials are trying to figure out if factors other than a malfunctioning vent pipe contributed to the February leak.

“The Hilton Garden Inn did not know this would become a problem, but as soon as it did, we took every step to remedy the situation,” he said. “We’re cooperating fully and we’ll continue to cooperate fully until every question is answered.”

OSHA hit the local Hilton’s owner, Parade Hotel LLC, with several citations late last month, including one for $2,500 related to employees getting sick during the February CO leak.

OSHA classified the CO citation as “serious,” meaning “the workplace hazard could cause injury or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did not know or could not have known of the violation.”

For more:   http://www.fireengineering.com/index/articles/Wire_News_Display/1202514041.html

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