Euclid ER doctor alerts Euclid FD to major carbon monoxide problem in apartment building

Ask any emergency room nurse or doctor and I’m sure they’ll say that Friday nights can be interesting. An early September evening provided evidence of this phenomenon. Dr. Marita Volk was the doctor on duty one night when a family of four came to Euclid Hospital with flu-like symptoms. She and her staff wisely chose to test the family for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning; all four tests came back positive. But now a larger, more dangerous problem presented itself. The family of four lived in a six-story apartment complex on Euclid Avenue, and if this family had CO poisoning, then perhaps dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of occupants could be suffering the same problem. Dr. Volk immediately called the Euclid Fire Department to alert them to a potential mass-casualty incident.

One fire engine and one ambulance responded, under the supervision of Lieutenant Mike Gulya. Gulya and his crew entered the building and their carbon monoxide meter immediately began sounding an alarm. Readings were so high that Gulya and his crew had to put on protective breathing equipment so they would not suffer CO poisoning. Levels in the boiler exceeded 1,000 parts per million! Normal readings in a residential building should be between 0-9 parts per million.  They ensured all gas-burning appliances were shut off and contacted Dominion East Ohio to come to the scene. With a potential disaster on his hands, Gulya called for help and five additional fire department vehicles responded. EFD crews had to search for victims in each apartment on each floor while at the same time ventilating the building to get rid of the excessive build-up of carbon monoxide. 

Miraculously, no other occupants of the large building required transport or even had elevated levels of carbon monoxide.  

The cause of the problem was determined to be an improper chimney cap placed over the top of chimney. The chimney of this building should allow all the carbon monoxide from the boiler and hot water tanks to escape. Because of the blockage, the CO had nowhere to go other than back down the flue and into the building. Once this happened, CO poisoning began.

Due to the quick thinking of Euclid Hospital’s Dr. Volk and her staff, along with the quick actions of the Euclid Fire Department, a tragedy was averted.

Please be sure to have your furnace and all gas-burning appliances serviced this fall in preparation for winter. Protect yourself and your families by purchasing a carbon monoxide detector. It’s an inexpensive life insurance policy. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors……don’t stay home without them!