Fall River, MA – Seven people two adults and five children were hospitalized today after a carbon monoxide leak in a three-family house at 205 Ridge St.
A malfunctioning boiler unit in the tenement’s basement leaked the carbon monoxide, which caused flu-like symptoms to residents in the first and second floor apartments, Fall River Fire Capt. Neil Furtado said.
The second floor apartment’s carbon monoxide detectors alerted residents and the Fall River Fire Department just after 10:30 a.m. The responding firefighters evacuated the building and ambulances transported five people to St. Anne’s Hospital and two to Charlton Memorial Hospital, Furtado said.
“The alarms did their job,” Furtado said.
Neighbors described a hectic scene with at least two fire trucks and three ambulances stationed outside the house, located near the corner of Ridge and Cottage streets.
“It was just a big commotion. There were a lot of people and their pets outside the house. The Fire Department went in the house and they were asking people how they were feeling and what their symptoms were,” said Rose Arruda, a next-door neighbor who stepped outside onto her front porch after she heard the firetrucks’ sirens.
Arruda and her 15-year-old niece, Gabby Carmo, said they saw a woman and her daughter being taken out on stretchers from their second-floor apartment. On the first floor, a woman and her two children walked themselves to the ambulances.
At the time of the leak, a young couple with an infant were visiting the tenement to see the third-floor apartment, which is vacant.
“They just walked away. There was no way they were going to rent the apartment with all of that happening,” Arruda said.
Furtado said the Fire Department is working with the tenement’s landlord to resolve the malfunctioning boiler, which was shut down. Furtado said further tests will be conducted to confirm the presence of carbon monoxide, and he credited the responding firefighters for calling for medical rescue after noticing the residents’ flu-like symptoms.
“People don’t realize it sometimes, but carbon monoxide will kill you,” said Bruno Cordeiro, a resident who lives around the corner on Forest Street. He had gone to a convenience store when he saw the fire trucks responding to the scene. He described seeing firefighters talking to the residents, and helping them get to the ambulances.
“Carbon monoxide is silent. It will kill you,” Cordeiro said. “Thank God the detectors worked.”