Carbon monoxide levels spike; apartments evacuated
Lincoln Journal Star
Updated 15 hrs ago
Lincoln Fire and Rescue responded to a carbon monoxide detector going off at 4901 Wilshire Blvd., and decided to evacuate the building.
Some residents were displaced for the night as LFR and Black Hills Energy crews tried to locate what caused carbon monoxide levels to spike.
A Hazmat Level 2 emergency was declared after carbon monoxide levels of 500 parts per million were detected in an upper floor apartment of one of the three buildings in the complex.
Anything over 50 parts per million is considered to be hazardous.
A Hazmat Level 2 indicates the possibility of a medical emergency, Battalion Chief Jim Bopp said.
LFR arrived at the complex around 10 p.m. Wednesday. Large fans still were being used to ventilate the apartments around 11 p.m.
Five residents' levels of carbon monoxide were being monitored. One resident, Bopp said, had a higher level than the others and would be monitored for the next few hours. No one needed to be hospitalized.
Carbon monoxide levels were too high to allow a Black Hills worker into the building to check the gas meter until around 11 p.m.
By around 11:15 p.m., carbon monoxide levels had fallen below 100.
The cause of the high level of carbon monoxide was found to be a malfunctioning water heater.