BRUNSWICK — Martin’s Point Health Care Center at 74 Baribeau Dr. was evacuated late Tuesday morning because people smelled propane inside the building.
Brunswick Deputy Fire Chief Don Koslosky said everyone was out of the building when firefighters arrived around 11:15 a.m. Firefighters didn’t smell gas as they checked the building with meters that detect carbon monoxide and natural gas. They didn’t detect any gasses in the building.
Koslosky said a technician with Maine Natural Gas checked the roof and did detect carbon monoxide in the rooftop ventilation system. He said sometimes the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems have a pinhole leak and pull propane or natural gas from outside into the building.
“We made a decision that it would be safer for us to just have the HVAC service company check everything out and make sure (the HVAC system is) not pumping anything into the building,” Koslosky said. “It was a decision not taken lightly.”
Koslosky said he doesn’t know how many people were evacuated from the building, since most were waiting in their vehicles by the time the fire department arrived. Someone from Martin’s Point went around to vehicles notifying people that the building was closing for the day and staff was sent home, Koslosky said.
The building was closed for the rest of the day Tuesday but is expected to reopen Wednesday, according to a patient service representative for Martin’s Point. If it doesn’t, patients will be notified.
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