Commack EMTs Help Avert Potential Carbon Monoxide Tragedy at Applebee's

(Google Maps photo)

Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps members Justin Gau and Kyle Page stopped by the Commack Applebee’s Tuesday night for a bite to eat.

But soon after entering the restaurant on Veterans Highway, the portable carbon monoxide detectors the two on-duty EMTs were carrying went into alarm, according to suburbanfiremarshal.org.

Gau and Page ordered the evacuation of the building and requested a response from the Commack Fire Department shortly after 11 p.m.

Fire department members conducted more extensive air sampling within the building and encountered sustained carbon monoxide levels of between 80 and 250 ppm (parts per million). Fire department personnel determined that a large water heater in the rear of the building was malfunctioning.

The unit was shut down and the building ventilated until atmospheric conditions were within permissible limits. A number of employees who had been feeling ill were checked out at the scene but all refused further medical attention.

When CO levels reach and remain at and above 70 ppm, symptoms become more noticeable and can include headache, fatigue and nausea. At sustained CO concentrations above 150 ppm, disorientation, unconsciousness, and death are possible.