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Carbon monoxide leak at Microtel Inn in Braxton Co. hotel sends 7 to hospital
BRAXTON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Multiple people were taken to the hospital, after a carbon monoxide leak in a Braxton County hotel.
John Hoffman, the Director of Braxton County Emergency Management, says that 60 people were staying at the hotel, with seven taken to the hospital.
Hoffman believes out of the seven, only one is still in the hospital.
He says his team did find carbon monoxide in the building. They are still checking where it came from.
The Fire Marshal’s Office was also contacted during this incident.
Crews with the Gassaway and Sutton Fire Departments responded to the scene.
The cause of this is under investigation.
Carbon monoxide leak in Braxton Co. hotel sends 7 to hospital (wsaz.com)
Darrell Miller told Eyewitness News he was on a weekend getaway and staying at the hotel, but things took a turn early Sunday morning. Miller said he happened to wake up around 2 a.m. and after he went outside to the parking lot to see if his grandkids were back from fishing he came back inside to find people on the floor.
“When I come back in, there were people laying in the floor, puking and having trouble breathing,” he recalled. “No fire alarm went off. No carbon monoxide detectors went off, and I had to go literally door to door and beat on doors to get people out of there.”
‘I’m still having trouble breathing’: Braxton County hotel guest details gas leak (wchstv.com)
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WDTV) – UPDATE: The West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office has released more information about a carbon monoxide leak that occurred at a Braxton County hotel Sunday.
Officials said Braxton County 911 received a call at approximately 2:35 a.m. from two adult female occupants of the hotel who said they did not feel well. The women were complaining of weakness, nausea and numbness in their extremities, had no knowledge of ingesting anything and knew no reason as to why they would both be sick.
EMS responded to the scene, found other individuals in the hotel who also did not feel well and called the fire department. When fire officials arrived on scene, they found elevated carbon monoxide levels within the structure, immediately turned off the natural gas service to the building, contacted the local gas utility and ventilated the building.
Seven patients were transported by EMS to a local hospital, and several individuals drove themselves to be evaluated, as well.
Later that morning, a member of the State Fire Marshal’s Office visited the hotel, conducted a fire safety inspection and issued a report. No carbon monoxide detection of any kind was found during that inspection, officials said.
The hotel installed temporary carbon monoxide detectors and ordered permanent units to attach to their current fire alarm system, officials said, as state law requires that hotels have them.
John Hoffman, the Director of Braxton County Emergency Management, says that 60 people were staying at the Microtel Inn near Gassaway at the time and that seven of them were taken to the hospital.
Hoffman believes out of the seven, only one is still in the hospital.
He says his team did find carbon monoxide in the building. They are still checking where it came from.
Braxton County dispatchers say the call came in around 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
The West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office was also contacted during this incident.
Crews with the Gassaway and Sutton Fire Departments responded to the scene.
The cause of this is under investigation.
BRAXTON COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — A Braxton County hotel where multiple people were hospitalized due to carbon monoxide exposure did not have detectors installed prior to the incident, state fire officials said.
Emergency officials were called to the Microtel Inn at 115 Reston Place near Gassaway about 2:35 a.m. Sunday after two occupants said they did not feel well and were complaining of weakness, nausea and numbness in their extremities, a news release from the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office said.
The individuals stated they had no knowledge of ingesting anything and had no known reason as to why both would be sick.
Once on scene, EMS crews began finding more people at the hotel who did not feel well. A total of seven people were taken to local hospitals for treatment and several others drove themselves, according to the news release.
First responders told Eyewitness News that 68 people were staying at the hotel at the time of the incident.
While evaluating the scene, officials said they found elevated carbon monoxide levels within the hotel and natural gas service was immediately turned off.
During an inspection by the fire marshal’s office, investigators conducted a fire safety inspection where they said “no carbon monoxide detection of any kind” was found, according to the news release.
Investigators said the hotel had installed temporary carbon monoxide detectors by the afternoon hours and had ordered permanent detectors that could be attached to its fire alarm system that have since been installed.
The gas-fired water heaters were serviced the same day by a licensed contractor and placed back in service.
West Virginia state code requires carbon monoxide detectors in apartment buildings, boarding houses, dormitories, hospitals, long-term care facilities, adult or childcare facilities, assisted living facilities, one- and two-family dwellings that are intended to be rented or leased, hotels and motels, public and private educational occupancies.
Mat Johnson was staying at the hotel when the incident happened and is wondering why the hotel didn’t have detectors in the first place.
“Whenever I found out that they didn’t have any carbon monoxide detectors, I was pretty frustrated to be honest with you, a little bit more frustrated than I was before,” he said. “I think about a place like that, a place of business, that they would have everything up to code.”
Johnson said since the incident, he bought a portable carbon monoxide detector to take with him when he stays in a hotel from now on.
“I’m just super nervous about that happening again,” he told Eyewitness News.
No carbon monoxide detectors were installed at Braxton County hotel, officials say (wchstv.com)
