Waltham, MA – A carbon monoxide leak forced the evacuation of a luxury apartment building on River Street Sunday night, and two children were taken to the hospital after vomiting, an official said.
Lisa Nickerson, a spokeswoman for the Currents on the Charles apartments, confirmed the carbon monoxide leak.
Both children are okay and at Newton-Wellesley hospital, she said by telephone.
The Waltham police and fire departments declined to comment Sunday night. Twelve fire trucks responded to the scene, along with at least one ambulance, shortly before 9 p.m.
The source of the carbon monoxide leak was determined to be a frozen vent, according to Nickerson. National Grid monitored the building throughout the night.
About 60 residents huddled in the lobby of their building, awaiting instruction from the Waltham Fire Department. Most residents were allowed to return to their units shortly after 11 p.m., but four units were still being monitored, said Bridget Kelly, another spokeswoman for the Currents on the Charles.
The 200-unit apartment complex was built in 2014 and is owned by Hines MIP River Street LLC, according to city property records.
Some residents said they were alerted to a problem when the carbon monoxide alarms sounded throughout the building overlooking the Charles River.
According to one resident, who asked not to be identified, multiple children were tested for carbon monoxide poisoning and were taken away with their family in an ambulance.
Their levels were high, the resident said. The property manager just got here.
Another resident, Lisa Romero, said that the fire department has also responded to the complex for other issues, such as freezing pipes.
But Sunday was the first time she’d heard the carbon monoxide alarm sound. She had no symptoms of any poisoning, she said, but said she did see a child being tested and taken away in an ambulance.
Matthew Stanhope was visiting his girlfriend at her apartment in the building when he heard the alarm. I heard two kids were taken away on the ambulance because they get sick and were throwing up, he said.