Michigan Carbon Monoxide Hotel Death: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Thirteen people – including multiple children – fell ill after a carbon monoxide leak at a Michigan hotel, and one child has died.

The carbon monoxide poisoning occurred at a Quality Inn and Suites in Niles, Michigan on April 1, according to NBC News.

The tragedy occurred around the indoor pool area of the hotel, where six children were found unconscious, NBC reported. Fire officials said the carbon monoxide was at an “extreme danger” level, which could quickly render people unconscious.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. The Children Were Found Lying Around an Indoor Pool

According to NBC News, the poisoned children were discovered lying on the floor around an indoor pool deck.

Hotel staff had noticed “their figures” lying on the ground through a window, NBC News reported.

ABC News reported that the children were unconscious when discovered.

Niles, Michigan Fire Department Capt. Don Wise said during a news conference that six people were located around the pool area unresponsive. Hotel staff found the children and “opened up doors and called 911 right away.” An off-duty California firefighter and EMT was on the scene helping the patients, Wise said.

“We were able to start pulling the patients out of that area into a safer area,” Wise said in the news conference. “Right now, we’ve got 13 patients that went to the hospital ranging from youth to staff here to police officers exposed to the high levels of carbon monoxide.”

One woman told ABC57 that “all the kids were surrounding the pool passed out” and throwing up and that one youth called his mother to come down to the pool area and said children were “making weird noises” and felt dizzy. Another woman who was staying in the hotel told ABC 57 that she heard yelling and said “there were literally five bodies” lying next to the pool.


2. Six Children Were Injured & One Has Died

Among those taken to the hospital were six children between the ages of 10 and 14, CNN reported.

One of those children has died, the network reported. Many of the victims were reported to be in stable condition in the hours after the incident, but one person was in critical condition, according to CNN.

Fire officials went room-to-room making sure everyone was out, Wise said. The other patients were not unresponsive. Wise said he did not know if the children were related. Some of those taken to the hospital were in housekeeping, he said.

No one knows how long the children were exposed to the carbon monoxide, Wise said.


3. Extremely Elevated Carbon Monoxide Levels Were Found in the Hotel

CNN reported that the carbon monoxide levels detected in the hotel were 800 parts per million.

For comparison purposes, the United States standard for carbon monoxide levels for a one-hour duration is 35 parts per million, according to CNN.


4. Officials Detected High Levels of Carbon Monoxide in Other Areas of the Hotel

ABC News reports that elevated levels of carbon monoxide were found elsewhere in the hotel too.

However, the carbon monoxide levels in those areas was not as dangerous as the levels around the pool area, according to ABC.

Wise said some first responders took a risk by rescuing the children but did so anyway because getting them into fresh air was their best chance of survival. First responders did go in with air monitors.


5. A Pool Heater Might Be to Blame

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Although the cause of the tragedy is still under investigation, officials say they are looking into whether a pool heater might be to blame, ABC News reported.

“It’s unclear if there is a carbon monoxide detector in the hotel’s pool area,” ABC reported.

“Anything that has a natural gas heater has potential of putting out carbon monoxide,” Wise said. “Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless and tasteless. You’ll end up getting flu like symptoms.” Then patients become nauseous and go unresponsive, he said.

A mechanical engineering is checking the hotel for the cause, Wise said. He said he had never seen anything like the tragedy in 30 years on the job.