Dunmore, PA – The Best Western in Dunmore is closed Sunday after a carbon monoxide leak was detected in the hotel that sent about 30 people to the hospital.
Jessie Hall was staying at the hotel with her family.
“We were five minutes from leaving,” Hall said. “We just had to grab our purses.”
Hall was one of the approximate 30 people that were sent to the hospital after a carbon monoxide leak was detected at the hotel.
“We were at breakfast and the alarm went off and we exited,” Hall told Eyewitness News.
Hall joined about 200 others outside the hotel, which is on Tigue Street, who were also forced out of the hotel Sunday morning.
Davantae James told Eyewitness News that he knew something was wrong when he heard alarms going off in the hotel.
“I was tired so I was kind of angry,” James said. “I didn’t know why we had to leave. Then when I got outside a band of blues wanted us to come over here and get triaged and checked out.”
Once outside guests were examined by emergency officials.
The sickest guests were transported to Gesinger CMC on a school bus.
According to the Dunmore Fire Chief the leak was caused by a malfunctioning furnace.
Guests were forced to wait outside for about two hours until it was safe to grab their possessions.
Tim Devine, who was in from New York for the weekend, told Eyewitness News the whole situation was frustrating.
“We went five hours from home and this was half way back home,” he said. “So we tried and figured stay over night. Then we wake up to this.”
Guests forced out of the hotel were transfered to two other hotels in the area.
According to the manager they should be refunded for their stays.
It’s still unclear if the building has working carbon monoxide detectors.
A building inspector is expected to be at the hotel Monday.