Unfortunately, I have written about carbon monoxide deaths in hotels far too often—most recently last November. The past few weeks I have read about two more incidents at hotels. First, in late June, two men were found dead by a third guest staying in the room at the Best Western Hotel in Asheville, N.C. Police suspect the cause of the deaths to be carbon monoxide poisoning. According to an unsealed warrant, Asheville fire chief Shane Mackey suspects a utility room behind the room was the source of the carbon monoxide. The utility room contained two water heaters and two air heaters. Mackey said an exhaust pipe was not properly ventilated to outside the room. He suspects there may have been seepage into the guestroom.
In the second incident, at least 15 hotel guests are in a critical condition following a carbon monoxide leak yesterday at a Super 8 by Wyndham hotel in Winnipeg, Canada. Forty-six people were hospitalized after an automatic alarm alerted hotel staff to a leak in the boiler room. Firefighters in Winnipeg said it was one of the worst incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning their department had ever seen. Those in a critical condition were reported to have high carbon monoxide readings in their blood and they were rushed to the hospital with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and a decrease in level consciousness. The hotel’s owner said the building had recently passed a fire inspection and had no history of carbon monoxide leaks.
As mentioned here before, whether they are required or not in your locale, be over-zealous in your placement of carbon monoxide detectors. They can help avoid situations like those described above, they can save lives, and they can certainly help protect you from legal nightmares.
