Rochester, MN – A couple hours after Grace Condron went into work at the Gingerbread House Bakery Saturday morning, her head began to hurt.
Condron, 20, who suffers from chronic migraines, thought it was just the beginning of another bad headache. But it became a bit more strange when the bakery’s three other employees developed headaches and flu-like symptoms as well.
“We just thought maybe it was because it was so cold and everybody gets cold this time of year, we didn’t really think about it,” Condron said.
But bakery employees called the ambulance around 9:45 a.m. when a worker collapsed.
Rochester firefighters entered the building at 1104 N. Broadway with a gas detector, which picked up elevated levels up to 152 ppm of carbon monoxide, according to Fire Battalion Chief Chris Bailey. One employee was taken to Saint Marys Hospital for treatment.
Three people were in the building at the time of the call, and a delivery driver was in and out throughout the morning, according to Condron.
Bailey said employees all had elevated levels of carbon monoxide in their systems. Firefighters “opened up the building” and got air going through so that the carbon monoxide levels dropped back down to zero, he said.
Minnesota Energy personnel also responded, shutting off the building’s gas supply. A technician had to check appliances before the company could restore service, according to a news release from the Rochester Fire Department.
Tests Saturday afternoon revealed the excess carbon monoxide was coming from a doughnut fryer and a leaky furnace, according to bakery owner Mike Fish. A couple of parts on the equipment will require replacement, he said.
“You don’t really think about that type of thing,” Condron said, but that’s why carbon monoxide can be so dangerous. He advised everyone to have a carbon monoxide monitor in their home.
“It’s odorless, colorless, tasteless, and the signs of exposure mimic just being sick — headache, nausea, tiredness, fatigue,” he said. “Low-level exposures over a long duration just make you look and feel kind of like you’ve been sick.”
The building didn’t have a carbon monoxide detector, “but we do now,” Fish said. The bakery is closed on Sundays but reopened today.