South Carolina man died of carbon monoxide poisoning at a Pennsylvania hotel and several other guests were hospitalized after a construction worker covered a vent with a tarp and forced dangerous fumes into people's rooms on Friday morning.
The Best Western Allentown Suites and Business Center in Upper Macungie Township, Pa., was evacuated at about 8 a.m. EST, reported Philadelphia TV station WCAU-TV.
The hotel, which is located about 60 miles north of Philadelphia, has reopened, hotel officials said.
According to the Lehigh County coroner's office, Philip D. Prechtel, 63, of Hilton Head Island, S.C., was pronounced dead at the hotel.
Three paramedics and two police officers were treated and released as a precaution, and three guests were being treated for carbon monoxide exposure.
One female guest was listed in serious condition.
Paramedics were originally called to the hotel for a report of a man suffering flu-like symptoms. About an hour later, they were called back because a woman went unconscious in the hotel lobby.
When fire crews went to search her room, they found Prechtel, believed to be her husband, dead in the room, police said.
Two hotel workers in the basement are also being treated as well as emergency crews who were inside the hotel.
Ten people in all were hospitalized.
A hotel guest from Texas said she was in the shower when an alarm began going off.
Guests filled 56 of the more than 70 hotel rooms.
"The fire alarm went off. It woke us up so we evacuated the building," Frank Waldman, of Northeast Philadelphia, said.
Waldman and his daughter Emma, 10, said they didn't smell smoke but figured with alarms blazing they better get outside.
"When we got downstairs, we saw a lady on a rug outside," Emma Waldman said.
The Waldmans' room was on the south side of the building just above the area where three hotel guests were sickened by carbon monoxide fumes.
"My No. 1 priority is the safety of guests and staff. We are deeply saddened for the loss. We continue to cooperate fully in the investigation. We hope the hotel will reopen today," Best Western general manager Larry Kolasensky said.
Fire officials said a tarp on the south side of the building likely forced the carbon monoxide from the hotel's hot water heaters and recirculated the poisonous gas into the first-floor rooms and basement of the hotel.
According to Best Western officials, the tarp has been in place for about a week and was used by construction workers.
"We feel remorse for everyone involved. But until the investigation is completed, there will be no comment," a man wearing an Advanced Building Systems jacket said.
The man would not confirm if it was his construction company who put up the tarp, but hotel officials said Advanced Building Systems and Martin Plastering, both Philadelphia-area companies, are the two firms retained for the construction work on the hotel.
The hotel manager said he doesn't know who constructed the tarp or why it was used.
Carbon monoxide is odorless, so guests had no idea the poisonous gas was leaking into rooms until it was too late. It's produced when fuel doesn't burn completely.
Carbon monoxide can come from a variety of sources, such as faulty furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, wood stoves and space heaters.
Carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the bloodstream, keeping oxygen from reaching vital organs.
WCAU caught up with three paramedics from Cetronia Ambulance Corp. who were treated and released from a local hospital and are back on the job.
"It happened so fast," Stephanie Burke, of Cetronia Ambulance Corp., said.
Burke was one of more than a dozen paramedics from Cetronia who responded to the hotel.
She said the incident was her first mass casualty incident. She was exposed to the gas right away.
"I was feeling a little bit light-headed and burning in back of the throat," Burke said.
Burke and two others were immediately brought to Lehigh Valley Hospital.
Matthew Keiper was treated after he grabbed one of the hotel guests feared to be dead.
Timothy Goodin, of the EMS team who was also exposed to the carbon monoxide, said they followed protocol during the incident.
"About once a year, county will have training, mass practice for (mass casualty incidents). What you practice is what you do," Goodin said.
http://www.cbs46.com/news/15087942/detail.html?rss=lnta&psp=news&gg=true
The Best Western Allentown Suites and Business Center in Upper Macungie Township, Pa., was evacuated at about 8 a.m. EST, reported Philadelphia TV station WCAU-TV.
The hotel, which is located about 60 miles north of Philadelphia, has reopened, hotel officials said.
According to the Lehigh County coroner's office, Philip D. Prechtel, 63, of Hilton Head Island, S.C., was pronounced dead at the hotel.
Three paramedics and two police officers were treated and released as a precaution, and three guests were being treated for carbon monoxide exposure.
One female guest was listed in serious condition.
Paramedics were originally called to the hotel for a report of a man suffering flu-like symptoms. About an hour later, they were called back because a woman went unconscious in the hotel lobby.
When fire crews went to search her room, they found Prechtel, believed to be her husband, dead in the room, police said.
Two hotel workers in the basement are also being treated as well as emergency crews who were inside the hotel.
Ten people in all were hospitalized.
A hotel guest from Texas said she was in the shower when an alarm began going off.
Guests filled 56 of the more than 70 hotel rooms.
"The fire alarm went off. It woke us up so we evacuated the building," Frank Waldman, of Northeast Philadelphia, said.
Waldman and his daughter Emma, 10, said they didn't smell smoke but figured with alarms blazing they better get outside.
"When we got downstairs, we saw a lady on a rug outside," Emma Waldman said.
The Waldmans' room was on the south side of the building just above the area where three hotel guests were sickened by carbon monoxide fumes.
"My No. 1 priority is the safety of guests and staff. We are deeply saddened for the loss. We continue to cooperate fully in the investigation. We hope the hotel will reopen today," Best Western general manager Larry Kolasensky said.
Fire officials said a tarp on the south side of the building likely forced the carbon monoxide from the hotel's hot water heaters and recirculated the poisonous gas into the first-floor rooms and basement of the hotel.
According to Best Western officials, the tarp has been in place for about a week and was used by construction workers.
"We feel remorse for everyone involved. But until the investigation is completed, there will be no comment," a man wearing an Advanced Building Systems jacket said.
The man would not confirm if it was his construction company who put up the tarp, but hotel officials said Advanced Building Systems and Martin Plastering, both Philadelphia-area companies, are the two firms retained for the construction work on the hotel.
The hotel manager said he doesn't know who constructed the tarp or why it was used.
Carbon monoxide is odorless, so guests had no idea the poisonous gas was leaking into rooms until it was too late. It's produced when fuel doesn't burn completely.
Carbon monoxide can come from a variety of sources, such as faulty furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, wood stoves and space heaters.
Carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the bloodstream, keeping oxygen from reaching vital organs.
WCAU caught up with three paramedics from Cetronia Ambulance Corp. who were treated and released from a local hospital and are back on the job.
"It happened so fast," Stephanie Burke, of Cetronia Ambulance Corp., said.
Burke was one of more than a dozen paramedics from Cetronia who responded to the hotel.
She said the incident was her first mass casualty incident. She was exposed to the gas right away.
"I was feeling a little bit light-headed and burning in back of the throat," Burke said.
Burke and two others were immediately brought to Lehigh Valley Hospital.
Matthew Keiper was treated after he grabbed one of the hotel guests feared to be dead.
Timothy Goodin, of the EMS team who was also exposed to the carbon monoxide, said they followed protocol during the incident.
"About once a year, county will have training, mass practice for (mass casualty incidents). What you practice is what you do," Goodin said.
http://www.cbs46.com/news/15087942/detail.html?rss=lnta&psp=news&gg=true
