PORTLAND – Seven people were treated at hospitals for carbon monoxide poisoning Friday after exhaust gases were sucked into the Residence Inn Marriott through its rooftop air intake system.
The hotel at the corner of Fore and Hancock streets was evacuated Friday afternoon after elevated levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the building.
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Portland firefighters found levels of the toxic gas as high as 500 parts per million.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration says 50 parts per million is the maximum safe exposure.
Two guests at the five-story hotel, which is designed for long-term stays, showed up at Maine Medical Center on Friday morning complaining of headaches and nausea.
“Two healthy adults — both had similar symptoms, both started at the same time and both were fine (Thursday) night,” said Dr. Michael Gribb, chief of Maine Medical Center’s emergency room.
“We had to be concerned about exposure early, and carbon monoxide is certainly on that list, especially in the winter and especially in Maine.”
Fire Chief Fred LaMontagne said exhaust fumes from the hotel’s heating system were sucked into the air intake system on the building’s roof.
The problem apparently was caused by a combination of a temperature inversion and wind currents, he said.
Emergency room doctors consulted with the Northern New England Poison Center and determined that the two guests had most likely been exposed to carbon monoxide.
They alerted the Portland Fire Department at 12:25 p.m. and firefighters went to the hotel, officials said.
Firefighters ordered the evacuation after their testing instruments detected the unsafe levels of carbon monoxide. About 20 people — guests and staff members — were gathered in the lobby at that point.
Firefighters checked everyone in the hotel and identified five people who had symptoms and whose blood had elevated levels of carbon monoxide, said LaMontagne.
People who have carbon monoxide poisoning are treated with high-flow oxygen delivered through a gas mask, Gribb said.
Critically ill patients can be treated in hyperbaric oxygen chambers, though none of Friday’s patients needed that treatment.
Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at: dhench@pressherald.com
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