Carbon monoxide forces Provo church to evacuate, sickens members
Oct 13, 2019, 8:13 PM | Updated: Oct 14, 2019, 6:00 am
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint meeting house in Provo, Utah evacuated for detecting Carbon monoxide
PROVO, Utah— Crews evacuated a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Provo after carbon monoxide was discovered inside the building.
The Provo Fire Department’s Station 22 was dispatched at 11:06 AM Sunday for a medical call, according to authorities. En route to the building at 650 E. Stadium Ave., authorities learned it was a carbon monoxide leak.
“Upon arrival, quite a few people said they were feeling sick,” said Jeanie Atherton, spokesperson for Provo Fire. Firefighters immediately determined the church had “quite a bit” of the gas, which has no color or odor, built up inside.
Everyone was evacuated out of the church and Queststar Gas came out to identify the cause of the leak.
Authorities traced the source of the leak to a problem with a boiler inside the church building. Officials are unsure of what caused the boiler to break.
In all, Provo Fire Department officials confirm eight people went to Intermountain Hospital in Murray for hyperbaric treatment, in which patients receive pure oxygen treatment in a special tube or chamber.
This is a good reminder to check all carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they’re working properly, department officials said. If you don’t have one, they recommend you purchase one — even small amounts of carbon monoxide can be dangerous.
