2 people injured from carbon monoxide leak at Santa Cruz hotel
SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. (KION-TV)- The Santa Cruz Fire Department released information regarding a carbon monoxide leak that caused the Aqua Pacific Inn to be evacuated.
On Saturday September 9th, the fire department responded to a call for a medical emergency at the hotel around 11:15 PM. Fire crews arrived on scene to find two patients suffering from similar symptoms and began treatment.
Both patients were transported to an area hospital while fire crews investigated the cause of the cause of their illness. Investigators soon discovered carbon monoxide was detected in several areas of the hotel. Fire crews called for additional resources and started evacuating the hotel.
14 rooms in total were evacuated and/or ventilated. 25 people were temporarily displaced from the hotel.
To find the cause of the leak, ventilation fans were setup to clear the area while investigators searched. Investigators found the cause came from a mechanical room when they opened the door to the room and a rush of heat caused their gas monitoring equipment to go off.
The room was ventilated when both fire and PG&E discovered the cause of the leak coming from a faulty ventilation system attached to a group of hot water bank heaters.
The water heaters were secured by PG&E and red tagged by the Santa Cruz Fire Department. The affected areas of the hotel were ventilated until all signs of carbon monoxide were gone. No firefighters were injured during this time.
