Five hospitalized after carbon monoxide leak forces evacuation of N.B. building
SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Five people have been hospitalized after a carbon monoxide leak at a public housing unit forced the evacuation of around 30 residents in New Brunswick, a fire official said on Saturday.
Steve Voutour, platoon chief of the Saint John fire department, said emergency crews were called to the six-unit townhouse at around 10 p.m. on Friday after the carbon monoxide detector went off.
The property’s lease holder and her mother heard the alarm, and without a key to the building, forced their way inside, said Voutour, potentially risking exposure to carbon monoxide.
“It’s odourless, it’s colourless, it’s tasteless. You don’t know what’s going on,” he said Saturday in an interview. “It’s a silent killer.”