Shakopee, MN — Shakopee public safety officials say eight people are recovering after suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning early Tuesday.

A city spokesman says police were dispatched to a townhome on the 1500 block of Coneflower Lane after a resident called 911 to report three people inside the home were sick. Fire rigs and Allina EMS crews were also dispatched to the scene.

A woman at the townhome later told KARE 11’s Charmaine Nero that all of her family members had been released from the hospital and are recovering.

Fire crews took air readings at adjoining units, but all checked out OK.

Shakopee Fire Chief Rick Coleman says crews from Centerpoint Energy are on site at the townhome checking out the furnace to determine the source of the carbon monoxide. First responders were unable to locate any carbon monoxide detectors in the home.

In a post on the department’s Facebook page Shakopee FD stresses the importance of CO detectors, and urges those who have them to perform regular operational checks and change batteries a minimum of once per year.

Twin Cities author, comedian and media personality Sheletta Bundridge can attest to the importance of carbon monoxide detectors, and the human cost of not having them. Five family members died in November of 2020 when CO from a generator filled their Louisiana home in the wake of Hurricane Laura. They did not have detectors to warn them about what was happening.

“You need them in your ice house, you need them on every level of your home, you need them wherever you are in your RV or at your cabin,” Brundidge told KARE at the time of the deaths.