New York State to require carbon monoxide detectors in restaurants following deadly CO poisoning from a leaking water heater flue in Long Island

New York State to require carbon monoxide detectors in restaurants following deadly CO poisoning in Long Island from a leaking water heater flue

ALBANY, N.Y. — Restaurants and commercial buildings statewide will be required starting next June to install and maintain carbon monoxide detectors.

The two laws signed this week apply to New York City and the rest of the state.

Sponsors say they are intended to extend the requirement for the detectors already in place for apartments and one- and two-family homes.

They noted that a carbon monoxide leak from a malfunctioning water heater pipe recently killed a Long Island restaurant manager and sickened nearly 30 people.

The colorless, odorless gas comes from incomplete combustion. Milder symptoms from inhaling it include dizziness, headaches and confusion.

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Carbon monoxide kills one, sickens 19 at Long Island, N.Y., restaurant 

A leaky flue killed manager, Steven Nelson, 55, who was overcome in the basement of the Legal Sea Food restaurant at the Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington Station.

Steve Nelson, 55, manager of the Legal Sea Foods restaurant at the Walt Whitman Mall died from carbon monoxide poisoning February 24.

 

A faulty heating system is being blamed for triggering a carbon monoxide leak Saturday that killed a manager of a popular Long Island eatery and sickened 19 other people.

The Legal Sea Food restaurant at the Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington Station remained closed Sunday and tables bore half-eaten meals left by diners forced to flee.

A.J. Carter, spokesman for the Town of Huntington, said a fire marshal traced the poisonous odorless gas to a leaky flue of a restaurant’s heating system.

David Wexler for New York Daily News The owner of Legal Sea Foods, Roger Berkowitz, said losing Steven Nelson, a beloved manager, was like losing a member of the family.

“He came and discovered a problem with he heating system and a leaking flue pipe,” Carter of the fire marshal’s findings. “The issue was in the basement, where the manager ... was overcome.”
A worker said the manager, Steven Nelson, 55, a father of two, was found passed out a basement restroom.

Facebook Megan Smith, assistant manager of Legal Sea Food in Huntington, L.I., remains hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning.

The restaurant’s assistant manager, Megan Smith, was also overcome by the fumes when she went to search for Nelson, said the employee, who requested anonymity.
“It was madness,” the worker said. “She (Smith) went downstairs to inspect and disappeared. That’s when we knew something was wrong. People kept disappearing down there.”

David Wexler for New York Daily News Tables still held half-finished means as patrons fled the poisonous fumes Legal Sea Foods at the Walt Whitman Mall.

Nelson was taken to Huntington Hospital, where he died of a heart attack, officials said.
Smith was hospitalized overnight, but was expected to be released Sunday.

David Wexler for New York Daily News Chief Fire Marshall of town of Huntington, Terrence McNally, spoke about the safety issues that need to be addressed at Legal Sea Foods restaurant, which is closed until its leaky flue can be fixed.

“We appreciate everyone’s prayers, well wishes and concerns,” Smith said in a statement released by the hospital.
Dr. Michael Grasso of Huntington Hospital said his emergency-room staff treated 10 other people for carbon monoxide poisoning, including three paramedics sent to the restaurant. He said Smith was the only victim hospitalized overnight.

David Wexler for New York Daily News Legal Sea Foods restaurant was the scene of a carbon monoxide leak that felled 19 and killed one.

Eight others were treated at the scene.
The restaurant was issued a summons for unsafe equipment and will not reopen until city inspectors are assured the problem is fixed, officials said.