Quincy, IL – The Quincy Fire Department was called to Kelly’s Tavern at 2902 Broadway St. in Quincy twice on Tuesday. Both times, employees became ill from carbon monoxide poisoning, fire officials said.
The first call came in at 1:47 p.m. after six employees got sick. Three refused treatment and three were taken to the hospital, according to Adams County EMS Chief Paul Davis. He said 19 other people were in the restaurant at the time. They told EMS crews they had no symptoms, so they were not checked.
Quincy Assistant Fire Chief James Pioch said high levels of carbon monoxide were found in the kitchen area during the first call. Pioch said carbon monoxide levels came in at 700 to 800 ppm. He said anything over 35 ppm is considered dangerous.
The leak was blamed on a faulty stove and Kelly’s reopened for business at 5:15 p.m. for the dinner crowd after management said the issue was fixed.
Pioch says Ameren Illinois gave the all clear for the restaurant to reopen, saying Kelly’s had addressed three appliances that were of concern in the kitchen. Pioch says management bought another carbon monoxide detector and it went off around 7:30 p.m. Employees then started complaining of headaches, Pioch says, and that’s when emergency crews responded.
Fire officials say a second carbon monoxide leak was discovered in a rooftop furnace, forcing the business to close its doors around 8 p.m.
Kelly’s owner Jeff McClean said high levels were found again Tuesday night. He said he thought trouble with the ventilation system combined with the faulty stove caused the issues.
McClean said no customers were impacted by the incidents, but WGEM News spoke with customer Jeff Dorsey, who says he was impacted. Dorsey says he was eating lunch with a friend, when everyone was told to leave the restaurant. Originally, Dorsey said he felt fine and went back to work, but soon after, he started getting a headache and felt nauseous.
Dorsey says an employee of Kelly’s called him and said everyone needed to be checked out at a hospital, so he went to the hospital, where he was put on oxygen before being released.
Davis said six more people were identified with symptoms during the second incident. Three were taken to the hospital. The other three said they would find their own transportation to get medical attention.
Davis didn’t know how many people were in the restaurant when the second incident happened.