Faulty oil burner leaves 3 hospitalized after carbon monoxide exposure in Soundview
City records show the building at 1124 Stratford Ave. has received four HPD violations since September for defective carbon monoxide detectors on multiple floors. One of those violations remains open.
More Stories
Several people were hospitalized Thursday after being exposed to carbon monoxide in a Soundview apartment building that has a history of violations for broken detectors.
City records show the building at 1124 Stratford Ave. has received four HPD violations since September for defective carbon monoxide detectors on multiple floors. One of those violations remains open.
FDNY officials said they responded around 9 a.m. after several residents reported feeling dizzy.
“I didn’t smell anything,” one resident said, describing the odorless, colorless gas that filled the building.
Deputy Chief Stephen Sullivan said firefighters recorded carbon monoxide levels as high as 600 parts per million. Prolonged exposure at that level can be extremely dangerous, he said.
Ten people were treated by EMS, and three were taken to hospitals.
Firefighters evacuated all 44 apartments, sending residents and their pets outside in the cold.
“I was sleeping and I heard them knocking on the door, so I came out,” one resident said.
Sullivan said the carbon monoxide appears to have come from a defective oil burner, which the Department of Buildings is now inspecting.
Firefighters vented the building and allowed residents to return, but with the oil burner shut down, the building is temporarily without heat.
“Hopefully, we can get the oil burner repaired so we do not have to leave these people with no heat,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan also warned residents to check their carbon monoxide detectors, as calls like this tend to spike in cold weather. He added that people can't see or smell the gas, so people don’t know it’s there until they feel the effects.
