Annawan, IL – Four children were taken to the hospital after being exposed to carbon monoxide at an indoor pool.
It happened at the Best Western, Annawan Inn. First responders said the carbon monoxide levels were extremely high inside the pool area where four children were swimming and could have been deadly within half an hour.
They’d only been swimming for about 10 minutes, so but at those levels those are extremely high levels, said Annawan Fire Dept. Chief Dan Johnson.
A trip to pool turns into an ambulance ride to the hospital.
Our meter runs to 999 parts per million is our max read on that meter and it spiked that upon entering the door, said Chief Johnson.
He said within a half hour carbon monoxide levels that high can turn deadly. He said it’s also rare to see the deadly gas at such an extreme concentration.
Carbon monoxide is a very transient gas it moves very quickly from one spot to another, so usually it would ventilate itself, he said. That pool area however, was very, very well sealed up.
The four children were outside of the pool in the hallway when first responders arrived.
They had headaches, nausea, he said. They were dizzy.
All of the children were taken to the hospital.
It was certainly longer exposure, more risk you’d be at, said Chief Johnson.
He said the pool’s heater is to blame for leaking the deadly gas.
Secured all the gas in that area, advised the hotel ownership that they should have the pool heater checked and repaired before they reopened the pool area back up, he said.
It only took 25 minutes to ventilate the pool area to safe levels. He said the beginning stages of carbon monoxide poisoning usually starts with headaches and nausea.
It’s an odorless, tasteless gas, so you really never know it’s there, he said. If you don’t know what’s making you sick, but you weren’t sick before you entered that area and that area is making you sick, it’s best to leave that area to fresh air.
The hotel did not return a comment about what happened saying only the pool is still closed.
First responders said there was a carbon monoxide detector in the pool area, but it did not have an audible alarm.
At this time, the condition of the children taken to the hospital is unknown.
Another separate incident sent several other people to the hospital for the same reason. It happened in Maquon, IL during a fish fry. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office said it was being hosted in a large insulated shed and while investigators haven’t pin pointed the cause of carbon monoxide yet, there was a propane heater and a fryer.