Benton Township, MI – Firefighters spent four hours Wednesday clearing Adkins Village Housing in Benton Township after carbon monoxide was detected.
Firefighter Phil Grogan said the department was called at 2:43 p.m. and cleared the scene for re-entry at 6:10 p.m.
Upon arrival, firefighters evacuated the structure and used a handheld carbon monixide detector to determine a high level of CO.
Out of the 45 apartments that were evacuated, Grogan said one woman had a carbon monixide detector.
“I would say she was credited with saving everyone s life,” he said. “Nobody would have woken up. There were high levels found there. Carbon monoxide is a silent killer – it has no odor and no taste. It’s generated from gas appliances.”
Initial readings showed large concentrations of CO as high as 176 PPMs. After bringing in the gas company, firefighters conducted a primary and secondary search throughout the building.
Grogan said the gas company was getting readings as high as 200 PPMs.
“The heating and cooling company helped isolate the carbon monoxide,” he said. “They shut down the hot water and each individual furnace until the leak was found.”
Four people were transported to a hospital and two received treatment at the scene.
Benton Harbor Public Safety was called in for additional ventilation fans.