Lorain, OH – Alex M. Parker, Morning Journal – Gale-force winds coming off of the lake caused the ventilation ducts to close and forced carbon monoxide gas from a furnace into the police station Saturday morning, according to Safety-Service Director Craig Miller.
Two dispatchers complained of symptoms relating to carbon monoxide exposure and were treated and released from Community Health Partners, according to Miller.
”The wind blew the valve shut,” Miller said. ”The furnace wasn’t able to ventilate properly.”
Building workers have fixed the ventilation flaps so they cannot close, and have also installed four carbon monoxide detectors throughout the police station.
According to Miller, the building had none before.
Miller said that he was considering installing them throughout the city hall building.
”It think for the cost, it’s worth it,” he said.
According to the fire department, the two workers reported symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure, which include headaches and nausea.
The fire department was called at 10:20 a.m., and when it arrived it measured normal levels of the gas. However, by then, maintenance workers had turned off the furnace and had ventilated the air, the fire department reported.
Miller said that the wind on Lake Erie was so strong that day, a steamship on its way to Toledo requested to stop in the Lorain harbor for the day. The national weather service measured winds as strong as 56 miles per hour.