Four employees at the state Department of Transportation building on South Garfield Avenue in Pierre received medical attention after being exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide this (Fri.) morning.
According to the Pierre Fire Department, crews were dispatched to a report of a potential air quality issue inside an office building about 11am. When firefighters arrived, partial evacuation of the structure was in progress.
Staff that worked in the building were complaining of dizziness, nausea and a few other symptoms. Firefighters used a gas meter to check the quality of air, found elevated levels of carbon monoxide and immediately called for a full evacuation of the building.
Firefighters reentered the building and discovered the source of the CO leak to be associated with a boiler in the mechanical room. The boiler was shut down and the building was vented.
If you have gas burning appliances in your home or commercial buildings fire chief Ian Paul recommends having a working carbon monoxide detector in the building. He says just like a smoke detector, the carbon monoxide detector will give you early warning of any issues.
Firefighters were on scene for approximately 1.5 hours. Also on scene were AMR and the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
