Passaic, NJ- Two people died Saturday and 12 were hospitalized after they were overcome by carbon monoxide at a mixed-use commercial building in Passaic, Mayor Alex Blanco said.
Police responded to a 911 call around 1:30 p.m. and found two people dead in a small recording studio on the second floor of the building, Blanco said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. The 12 people who were hospitalized experienced confusion and were choking as they struggled out of other rooms on the second floor, he said.
Firefighters found two people dead Saturday in a carbon dioxide emergency at a music studio in Passaic. Twelve others were sent to hospitals.
A man at the scene, who identified himself as the property owner, declined to comment.
The three-story facility is occupied by North End and Streets Rehearsal Studios, and has about 20 small rehearsal spaces rented monthly by a variety of local musicians and bands, said musicians who rent space there. The building is part of an industrial complex off Van Houten Avenue with numerous businesses.
The injured were being treated at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson and Hackensack University Medical Center.
This is a sad day for the city of Passaic, Blanco said.
Officials would not identify the victims Saturday. But numerous photos and messages of grief and remembrance were posted on the Facebook page of a New York man involved in the skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding communities.
Can’t believe what I just read, you were such an outgoing awesome dude, may your spirit live on, read one post.
The incident at 61 Willet St. drew a mixture of hazmat teams, fire departments and ambulances from Passaic, Clifton, Lyndhurst, Moonachie and Wallington.
If it wasn’t for their quickness, there’d be more fatalities tonight, Blanco said.
Passaic Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost said the building’s fire and sprinkler systems were working.
PSE&G workers turned off gas to the building. It will not be restored until investigators determine what happened, said Rosa Pagnillo-Lopez, a PSE&G spokeswoman.
Keith Furlong, the spokesman for the city of Passaic, said mixed-use commercial buildings are not required to have carbon monoxide detectors.
Adam Bird of Bloomfield has rented a space in the facility with his band Those Mockingbirds for about five years. Bird said the musicians know each other.
We see each other every day, we play shows together all the time. It strikes close to home for us, Bird said.