Baltimore, MD –
It could’ve been a lot worse. A Baltimore family is recovering following a carbon monoxide leak in their home. It happened at the Dutch Village Apartments, in the 6900 block of McClean Boulevard in Northeast Baltimore.
It was a supposed to be a weekend of fun. A family get-together to celebrate Isaiah Robert’s sixth birthday. But his mom Harriett Roberts knew something wasn’t right when she started to get sick. “It started off with a headache. From the headache it went to shaking a lot, I felt dizzy. And then I got nauseous and started vomiting.”
Then the kids started complaining of feeling tired and dizzy. Roberts says, “They just started spreading out on the floor and on the sofa going to sleep.
My husband and I stayed up. But I started getting more and more violently ill and that’s when the detector went off.”
Turns out high levels of carbon monoxide were making them ill. The leak coming from a faulty water heater. Harriett, her husband Daniel, and 7 kids, ranging from 18 months to 9 years old were rushed to the hospital.
Daniel Roberts says, “I felt real lightheaded and was getting ready to faint but I couldn’t allow myself to faint because I had the kids and had to go from ambulance to ambulance… Making sure everything was ok.”
The family tells us the carbon monoxide detector never went off in their apartment. The only reason they found out something was wrong is when the detector went off in the unit directly above theirs.
According to Sawyer Realty, the company that owns Dutch Village, someone removed the carbon monoxide detector in the unit where the Roberts were staying.
Sawyer manages dozens of properties in the Baltimore area. The company has had a history of carbon monoxide related problems. Last month, repeated CO leaks at the Cove Village Apartments in Essex led to major changes.
We’ve also learned just last month, there was a carbon monoxide incident at another apartment in Dutch Village.
After Sunday’s scare, Sawyer was quick to respond, replacing the old water heater and installing a brand new stove and carbon monoxide alarm. Roberts says, “I’m just happy everything’s ok.”