Two recent hotel emergencies highlight the importance of placing carbon monoxide detectors throughout an entire hotel building—not just in guestroom areas. First, last Friday morning, a Jacksonville, N.C. Holiday Inn Express was evacuated after a carbon monoxide leak. Sixteen people required medical treatment at a local hospital. The cause of the leak is yet to be determined. Some of those evacuated were homeowners displaced after Hurricane Florence.
Yesterday morning, emergency crews evacuated a portion of the Westin Hotel in downtown Nashville after a carbon monoxide leak was detected in the building. According to fire officials, the leak sickened 14 people, and crews transported six victims to the hospital. The fire department said the high carbon monoxide levels were isolated to the third floor where the hotel’s workout and pool areas are located. A defective heating unit was the cause of the leak. In Nashville, carbon monoxide detectors are required to be close to rooms where people are sleeping when heat sources are nearby.
I checked, and the Green Lodging News website has about 40 articles mentioning carbon monoxide. Unfortunately, many people have died in hotels due to carbon monoxide leaks. Whether they are required or not in your locale, be over-zealous in your placement of carbon monoxide detectors. They can help avoid situations like those described above, they can save lives, and they can certainly help protect you from legal nightmares.