BURST
Vancouver firefighters evacuated a downtown apartment building due to elevated levels of carbon monoxide.
A resident of the building in the 1300-block Bidwell Street reported smelling an odour just after 10 a.m. Thursday.
When crews went in to investigate, they detected slightly elevated levels of carbon monoxide, said Capt. Matthew Trudeau of Vancouver Fire and Rescue.
“They evacuated out of precaution,” he said. “We got our hazmat team to come and start assessing the source. Fortis Gas is also on scene.”
No injuries were reported.
Trudeau said firefighter are ventilating the three-storey building, which has about two dozen suites, and expects residents to be able to return home this afternoon after investigators determine the cause of the higher-than-normal levels.
“If we ventilate and the readings go down, we don’t want these levels to come back, so we want to make sure to find the cause and origin of this,” he said.
The building has a gas boiler and each unit has a natural gas stoves.
Carbon monoxide gas is colourless and odourless and potentially deadly, if it builds up to dangerously high levels. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, and fatigue.
More to come …