More than a dozen people have been sent to hospitals from an Ohio Hotel after suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The incident happened in the pool area at Hampton Inn in Marysville, Ohio. Guests were evacuated from the building after police were notified that a child was unconscious. Marysville is about 30 miles northwest of Columbus.
Jay Riley, the Marysville fire chief, said the source of the carbon monoxide was unclear but everyone who was hospitalized had been in the hotel pool area. Riley said the victims included both children and adults. He did not provide exact ages.
Chief Riley told CNN in an email: “We did have life-threatening levels of carbon monoxide in the pool area of the hotel and we transported several people to local hospitals.”
“We continue the investigation into the source and (are) glad that no one died as a result of their exposure,” he added.
Chief Tony Brooks, from Marysville Police, said that the first 911 call came at about 5:30 p.m. He said that a 2-year-old girl had either fallen into the pool or was found in the pool unconscious at the hotel. More calls to authorities about unconscious people followed, with others reporting symptoms such as dizziness and burning in the throat.
The Marysville Fire Department and Marysville police called for help from multiple departments. Chief Brooks said those taken to the hospital from the hotel were alive when transported.
Fourteen people, including children and adults, were hospitalized Saturday after officials say life-threatening levels of carbon monoxide leaked into the pool area of the said Inn in Ohio.
Eleven people were transported by ambulance to Marysville area hospitals following the incident and seven of the victims were said to be in critical condition.
A Memorial Hospital spokesperson told NBC4 that 11 people (five adults and six children) sought treatment at the facility. Seven were transported by ambulance while four others walked in on their own.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain as well as confusion, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The hotel was evacuated, and a reporter on the scene said that firefighters had propped open a door and put an industrial fan in place.
According to Melanie Ziegler, VP of Community Engagement for Memorial Health, two critical patients have now been stabilized and five serious-but-stable patients have been transferred to tertiary care facilities. Four patients were treated and released. Brooks said two others were treated at the scene.
A representative of the Hampton Inn Marysville said officials were “fully cooperating with the local authorities as they investigate this incident”.
A hotel spokesperson told WBNS 10TV that management made accommodations for guests displaced by the incident to stay at other nearby hotels.
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