Paterson, NJ – Four people working in a city dry cleaners were taken to a hospital in the Bronx Monday evening for carbon monoxide poisoning, a fire official said.
Eight employees reported feeling nausea, headaches and lightheadedness around 5:30 p.m. at a dry cleaners at 268 Clinton Street, Deputy Fire Chief Frank Calamita said. The city’s firefighters also work as EMTs.
Five employees were transported by ambulances to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, while three went there on their own, Calamita said. Four of the eight were then taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx because their carbon monoxide levels were so high.
The eight employees, four men and four women, were between 24 and 50 years old, the deputy chief said.
The Passaic County Health Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration also responded, Calamita said.
A year ago, a couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside a studio carved out of an old factory building in Passaic. There were no carbon monoxide detectors and Governor Christie signed a bill last month named for the couple that expands the requirement to install and maintain the detectors to include all commercial structures.