Colorado Springs, CO – A Walmart Supercenter in north Colorado Springs was evacuated and temporarily closed Friday morning after reports of high levels of carbon monoxide inside.
The store reopened around 12:30 p.m.
A carbon monoxide alarm went off around 8:30 a.m., prompting store managers to call the Colorado Springs Fire Department, said Aaron Mullins, a Walmart spokesman. The giant discount store at 8250 Razorback Road, near Academy Boulevard, was evacuated soon after
Following the evacuation, firefighters and medical crews assessed “a large amount” of Walmart employees and shoppers but no one was affected by the toxic gas, said Capt. Steve Oswald, a Fire Department spokesman.
Firefighters discovered that an exhaust pipe connected to an HVAC system on the roof was emitting high levels of carbon monoxide at the back of the store, Oswald said. Walmart maintenance and Colorado Springs Utilities worked together to repair the problem, he added.
The carbon monoxide level was measured at 80 parts per million at chest level.
“It’s not completely dangerous, as far as life threatening, but it’ll make you sick,” Oswald added. “Anytime we get above 30 parts per million, that’s when we want to get people out of there, evacuated. You start to feel the medical effects of the (carbon monoxide) at that level.”