Des Moines, IA – A hazmat team evacuated a Des Moines apartment building Friday night after discovering a high level of carbon monoxide.
Residents of the four-story building at 3662 Ingersoll Ave. were safely removed and none required medical attention, officials with the Des Moines Fire Department said.
A ventilation fan in the apartment building’s mechanical room had been turned off, allowing the deadly gas to spread through the building, said Lt. Dana Knowler.
A resident called 911 around 8:20 p.m. after the alarm on a wall-mounted carbon monoxide detector sounded. While the hazmat team was investigating that room, another alarm went off elsewhere in the building.
We were fortunate the occupants of the apartment called us when they did, Knowler said. If they hadn’t, it might have been a problem.
By 10 p.m., hazmat team members were sweeping the last floor of the building, checking the carbon monoxide levels in each apartment before allowing residents back in.