This happened at the Collegiate Suites apartment complex located off of Patrick Henry Drive. Early this morning a resident of 1306 Henry Lane called maintenance to complain of nausea and headaches and said there was a possible gas leak. The property dispatched a gas company representative, who quickly ascertained that it was not a gas leak and started to evacuate the building.
He entered an apartment where he found five young females, all Virginia Tech students, unresponsive. He helped carry them out of the building to get some fresh air. At 11:18 a.m. the Blacksburg Police received the call and they quickly immobilized and taped off the building and surrounding area.
According to Blacksburg Police Spokesman Captain Bruce Bradberry, 12 residents were transported to various hospitals by ambulance with several others opting to drive themselves. Bradberry confirmed that the five females found by the gas company representative have been airlifted out of Montgomery Regional Hospital.
Blacksburg Police have released the names of the women who remain hospitalized after the carbon monoxide leak at the Collegiate Suites apartment building in Blacksburg today. 19-year-old Kristin Julia of Ashburn and 19-year-old Kristen Halik are in critical condition at the University of Virginia Medical Center. Elizabeth Burgin, 19 of Ashburn, Carolyn Dorman, 19 of Potomac, Maryland, and Nicole Howarth, 19 of Chesterfield, are in serious condition at Duke University Medical Center.
When the authorities and rescue personnel arrived on the scene the carbon monoxide level was at 500 parts per million. One hour later with the all the windows and doors opened in the building, the level was still at 200 parts per million. The danger of carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas, is that when it is inhaled it combines with the hemoglobin in the blood stream and produces a chemical that renders the hemoglobin unable to transport oxygen to the human body. In other words, you slowly suffocate from the inside.
Nausea and headaches are the first symptoms of CO poisoning and those start to occur after a few hours of exposure at around 25 parts per million. The exposure becomes life-threatening when the levels get up to 400 parts per million after just a couple hours of exposure. Carbon monoxide detectors were not installed in the apartment complex and there are very few apartment complexes that have them installed.
Virginia Tech Chief of Police Wendell Flinchum and Blacksburg Chief of Police Kimberly Crannis arrived on the scene, concerned about their residents and students they are sworn to protect. Virginia Tech President Dr. Charles Steger was at Montgomery Regional Hospital, obviously very worried about his students.
The cause of the carbon monoxide leak was a faulty hot water heater valve that was stuck open. This valve continued to burn fuel constantly, therefore causing the buildup of carbon monoxide.
The twelve residents who were not seriously injured were treated and released by Montgomery Regional Hospital. Two other residents were treated and released by Carillion New River Valley Medical Center also.
Town authorities declared the building safe by late afternoon and allowed the residents to return to their apartments.
Stay tuned right here to EverythingNRV.com as more details become available.
Photos of the scene can be found in the photo gallery at the bottom of the home page.
Photos by Scott Lawrence
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