Reno, NV – Reno firefighters responded Saturday to a carbon monoxide alarm at the El Cortez hotel in downtown Reno. It was the second such leak in the last couple weeks.
REMSA checked six people for elevated blood levels of carbon monoxide, but nobody was transported to a hospital, said Bob Knoll, Reno fire battalion chief.
Second Street between West Street and Arlington Avenue was closed to traffic during the incident.
Among the evacuated were residents and employees of the El Cortez, plus customers and workers from Noble Pie Parlor, Triumph Tattoo and An Epic Salon.
Knoll said Reno firefighters responded with one engine when a carbon monoxide alarm was activated around 2 p.m. Saturday in the basement of the hotel.
We found that there were some elevated readings in the building, so we upgraded it to a second alarm the same as a structure fire response and started evacuations, Knoll said.
Firefighters worked through the building and found some elevated readings, not in the overly toxic range, he said.
By 2:30 p.m., firefighters were opening windows and ventilating the building as residents and employees waited and chatted on the sidewalk below. Firefighters brought stools and chairs for those who needed them, and a city bus was called to transport hotel residents to a shelter if they wanted to go.
The hotel has about 45 officially registered guests, Knoll said.
The hot water system responsible for today’s leak and a similar incident a couple weeks ago was shut down and is in the process of being repaired, according to Knoll.