Warren YMCA closed due to high carbon monoxide levels

Staff report

WARREN

Dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide in the basement of the YMCA at 210 High St. caused the evacuation and closure of the facility Wednesday morning.

Among the 30 to 50 people evacuated were children apparently home for Christmas break.

Firefighters were called to the facility at 10:58 a.m. for an odor that was making one man sick in the basement area who was lifting weights.

Firefighters measured a small amount of carbon monoxide on the first floor but found a higher reading in a basement boiler room.

The building was evacuated within about 20 to 25 minutes, and there were no reported injuries, said Lt. Chuck Eggleston of the Warren Fire Department. The building remained closed the rest of the day.

Dominion East Ohio Gas was called, and workers indicated that one of the boilers was responsible for the carbon monoxide, which smelled like car exhaust, Eggleston said.

The 942 parts per million reading in the boiler room is three times higher than any previous reading he’s ever seen, Eggleston said. A reading of 35 parts per million is considered unsafe and requires evacuation of a commercial structure.

Eggleston said he does not believe anyone was exposed to the fumes long enough to have suffered any lasting effects.