A boiler ventilation issue caused a carbon monoxide leak at an Ocean City, Maryland, hotel Friday that made 18 people sick, including four hotel employees who went to the hospital.
The carbon monoxide alarm at the Ashore Resort & Beach Club went off at around 11:05 a.m., the Ocean City Fire Department said on social media. First responders treated 18 people for carbon monoxide exposure at the scene and took four hotel employees who were working in an office adjacent to the boiler room to a local hospital in stable condition.
The hotel said on social media that the carbon monoxide issue was caused by a ventilation issue with the hotel’s boiler, and that the building was declared safe at around 1:30 p.m. At that point, the Ashore Resort said, people came back into the hotel.
The hotel also emphasized that its carbon monoxide alarms worked as expected and that everyone was evacuated from the hotel when they went off. The boiler remains shut off.
“In order for this boiler to be turned back on, [Ocean City] officials will require necessary repairs, followed by a third-party mechanical inspection and a gas company inspection to ensure the system is safe to operate,” Ocean City Fire Marshal Joe Sexauer, newly sworn in Tuesday, said.
The four hotel employees, meanwhile, were discharged from the hospital just after 4 p.m. Friday, TidalHealth, which runs Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, Maryland, where they were taken by first responders, said on social media.
