Williston, VT – A holiday nightmare– five days before Christmas and carbon monoxide sickened people at a packed Toys R Us store in Williston.
Firefighters responded to the store after a report of a strange odor. Seventy-five people were in the store. They were all evacuated and two employees who complained of feeling ill were taken by ambulance to the hospital.
First responders tell us the carbon monoxide might have leaked form a propane unit that was used overnight. They say the level inside the store was very high.
Williston Fire Chief Ken Morton: An employee or someone in the store complained about an odor. We arrived and determined it may be an off-gassing situation and it turned out to be carbon monoxide.
Reporter Kristin Kelly: Sounds like it’s lucky someone complained.
Chief Ken Morton: It is lucky. Not sure how long they were in the building before they complained, but we’ll learn that as the day moves on.
The building was vented. The store hoped to reopen by 12:30 p.m.