Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO — Sixty people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning after a leak at a Provo meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Intermountain Healthcare officials revealed Monday. Officials originally said 59 people were treated but later updated the number to 60.
The leak took place just after 11 a.m. Sunday at the meetinghouse, 650 E. Stadium Avenue in Provo, according to Provo Fire and Rescue officials. Numerous people were feeling sick when medical personnel arrived, officials said.
The carbon monoxide was linked to a boiler in the building, which did not have a carbon monoxide detector since it is an older building, officials said. Most of the people affected were teenage girls who were in a young women’s class at the meetinghouse.
Related:
Of the patients treated, 24 received hyperbaric treatment at either Utah Valley Hospital, Intermountain Medical Center or LDS Hospital, Intermountain Healthcare officials said in a news release. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment is a procedure in which air pressure is increased so that patients can inhale more oxygen than normal, according to Mayo Clinic.
Carbon monoxide is sometimes produced from heating sources inside the home, including faulty furnaces, Intermountain Healthcare officials said in the release.
“Carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms are similar to the flu — nausea, tiredness, aches, and pains,” Dr. Lindell Weaver, medical director of the Hyperbaric Medicine Center at Intermountain Medical Center and LDS Hospital, said in the release. “If you suspect you have been exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide, you should leave immediately and seek help.”