Chicago, IL- By Tom Rybarczyk, Chicago Tribune
Seven people were recovering in area hospitals early today after they were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes in their Humboldt Park two-flat, officials said.
The victims were sickened around 10:30 p.m. Thursday after some bricks fell into a chimney flue, blocking the exhaust for the building’s water heaters and furnaces and trapping deadly gas inside, said Elizabeth Castro, a spokeswoman for Peoples Energy.
When they arrived at the building in the 1900 block of North Pulaski Road, firefighters measured a high concentration of carbon monoxide in the two-flat, which had been converted into a three-unit apartment building, Castro said.
Two of the victims were listed in serious to critical condition at Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center; one was in serious condition at Illinois Masonic Medical Center; and four others were in stable condition at area hospitals, police spokesman John Mirabelli said.