Mar 21, 2005 8:00 am US/Eastern
Gas Fumes Sicken 48 Worshippers
Source Of Carbon Monoxide Lead Under Investigation
BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. (CBS) ―
Carbon monoxide fumes sickened at least 48 members of an interfaith worship group at a suburban Detroit church building.
The men, women and children, members of the Sai Center of Southfield, were treated Sunday evening at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, said Dr. Frank McGeorge, an emergency room physician.
"We've had a number of individuals that have been passing out. We have a number with headaches, nausea, vomiting," McGeorge said.
Ambulances took 16 people to the hospital from Kensington Academy, a Catholic day school rented by the Sai Center for its services. Another 32 people drove themselves to the hospital.
The school, which has 195 students from preschool through 8th grade, was to remain closed Monday while officials investigated the leak, the Detroit Free Press reported.
"We've called the company in charge of our heating system of the school and they will be out first thing in the morning," said Cathy Williams of the Kensington Academy.
Ashok Hosangadi, 48, of Oak Park, said a woman came out of the worship area shortly before 6 p.m. and said she was ill.
"She had a severe headache," Hosangadi told The Detroit News. "I gave her some water, opened some windows so that she could get some air. Ten minutes later another woman came (complaining of headaches), and then I started getting worried. I called 911."
It was the second time in about two weeks that carbon monoxide overcame a group of people at an Oakland County school.
About 35 children and adults were sickened March 5 during swimming lessons at Dondero High School's pool in Royal Oak. Five of them were taken to Beaumont Hospital and placed in its hyperbaric chamber, where they were placed under increased pressure to help better absorb oxygen into their blood, McGeorge said at the time. They were released later in the day.
(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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