# Man dies, dozens hospitalized after carbon monoxide leak at New York mall



## mark handler (Feb 24, 2014)

Man dies, dozens hospitalized after carbon monoxide leak at New York mall

By Alexandra Field. Faith Karimi and Joe Sutton, CNN

updated 3:27 PM EST, Sun February 23, 2014

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/23/justice/new-york-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/

New York (CNN) -- A restaurant manager died and one of his employees remained hospitalized after inhaling carbon monoxide at a Long Island mall, authorities said Sunday.

Another 26 people were treated and released after the incident, according to hospitals.

Police and emergency crews rushed to Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station, New York, on Saturday night after reports that a woman had collapsed in the basement of Legal Sea Foods. Once they arrived, they felt dizzy as well and determined that the cause was carbon monoxide poisoning, said police in Suffolk County, New York.

"Police evacuated the restaurant and found the manager, Steven Nelson, 55, of Copiague, unconscious in the basement," a statement said. "He was transported to Huntington Hospital where he was pronounced dead."

A sign on the restaurant's door Sunday said the building has been condemned as being unsafe and unfit for human habitation.

Investigators found a leak in the flue pipe of the water heater, said A.J. Carter, a spokesman for the town of Huntington.

Authorities sent the restaurant a summons for faulty equipment, which carries a fine of up to $2,000, Carter said.

Colorless, odorless carbon monoxide is produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels like oil and natural gas.

The restaurant didn't have a carbon monoxide detector. State fire codes require them only in establishments where people sleep, Carter said.

Legal Sea Foods is subject to annual inspection, and there were no issues when a town official inspected the restaurant in March. The restaurant was scheduled for another inspection at the end of next month.

The restaurant and surrounding businesses were evacuated as a precaution Saturday, but authorities said the carbon monoxide appeared limited to the basement of the restaurant.

National Grid, the restaurant's natural gas provider, shut off a gas line shared by Panera Bread and Legal Sea Foods as a precaution, Carter said.

Before either restaurant can reopen, he said, they'll have to get plumbers to check for leaks and receive certification from the town's plumbing inspector.

Boston-based Legal Sea Foods offered its condolences to Nelson's family and said it planned to check safety at all of its restaurants as a result of the incident.

"The terrible tragedy highlights the inadequacy of the codes for carbon monoxide detectors in commercial spaces. In the wake of Saturday night's tragic events, I have instructed our operations team to conduct an exhaustive safety check at all our restaurants. This includes not only ensuring that we meet local codes as we did in Huntington, but putting a plan in place to exceed them in order to safeguard everyone," Legal Sea Foods CEO Roger Berkowitz said in a written statement. "Stronger safety measures must be put in place, and I pledge to be at the forefront of this effort."

Grief counselors will be meeting with the restaurant's associates, and their family and friends, Berkowitz said.

"Steve's tragic death is a shock to all of us at Legal Sea Foods," he said. "He was one of the finest people we've ever had the pleasure of working with."


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## cda (Feb 24, 2014)

Stronger safety measures must be put in place, and I pledge to be at the forefront of this effort."

Regular Maintenance. ????


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## mark handler (Feb 24, 2014)

CM detectors in all confined spaces, containing a fuel burning device?


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## ICE (Feb 24, 2014)

> "The terrible tragedy highlights the inadequacy of the codes for carbon monoxide detectors in commercial spaces."


I understand his grief.... once the shock wears off he won't blame it on the Building Code.


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## Gregg Harris (Feb 24, 2014)

cda said:
			
		

> Stronger safety measures must be put in place, and I pledge to be at the forefront of this effort."Regular Maintenance. ????


This is the key to the issue, not more code requirements.

The CO is produced at the point of combustion at the burner. There are plenty of code sections that are required at installation to prevent the CO production due to the structure itself.

If the appliance was commissioned and maintenance performed with a combustion analyzer the appliance would not produce the levels of CO that could cause an issue.

CO detectors that are UL listed to 2034 are useless. At the point of alarm the space already exceeds the lower limits of CO in the space and humans and pets are already poisoned.

There are several CO "alarms" that are not UL 2034 listed that have a lower alarm thresh-hole  performance that are better choices.


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## mark handler (Feb 24, 2014)

Without tragedy, Regular Maintenance, is an expense most restaurants/businesses will not do.


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## mark handler (Feb 24, 2014)

Gregg Harris said:
			
		

> This is the key to the issue, not more code requirements. The CO is produced at the point of combustion at the burner. There are plenty of code sections that are required at installation to prevent the CO production due to the structure itself.
> 
> If the appliance was commissioned and maintenance performed with a combustion analyzer the appliance would not produce the levels of CO that could cause an issue.
> 
> ...


Officials: Commercial CO detectors costly, but could save lives

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/officials-commercial-co-detectors-costly-but-could-save-lives-1.7182005

Originally published: February 23, 2014 7:16 PM

 Updated: February 23, 2014 9:36 PM

 By DAVID M. SCHWARTZ  david.schwartz@newsday.com

Installing carbon monoxide detectors in commercial buildings -- not currently required under current state building codes -- could save lives, medical and fire code experts said yesterday.

But officials who are helping to update New York's fire code said such a requirement could be a tough sell.

"It's the cost," said Jeff Wilkinson, president of the New York State Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association, which represents fire marshals and code enforcement officials. "You start driving up costs, builders start to complain."

Wilkinson said that with higher ceilings, it can be more expensive to wire commercial spaces such as malls for carbon monoxide detection, though he had no cost estimate. Walt Whitman Shops, next to the Legal Sea Foods restaurant in Huntington Station, where the general manager died Saturday, has carbon monoxide detectors, a mall spokesman said yesterday.

While the state does not mandate the detectors for commercial buildings, Huntington Town code requires them in hotels and nursing homes.

Dr. Lindell K. Weaver, a medical director at two hospitals in Utah who has published papers on carbon monoxide poisoning and treats it, said there's no good reason for not having the detectors in homes and businesses.

"I think they should all have carbon monoxide alarms," Weaver said from a Salt Lake City hospital.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year in the United States, more than 400 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning and 20,000 go to the emergency room.

Other estimates put those numbers higher. Papers in the New England Journal of Medicine and other medical publications estimate 50,000 people a year go to the emergency room with carbon monoxide poisoning.

Michael Gross, senior vice president at Huntington Hospital, said Sunday he thinks the logical step now would be for restaurants to have carbon monoxide detectors so that this does not occur again.

"This is completely preventable, and carbon monoxide detectors are accurate and inexpensive," he said. He said Saturday's carbon monoxide leak at Legal Sea Foods was unusual.

Mitchell Pally, chief executive of the Long Island Builders Institute, said he doesn't know of a discussion to require carbon monoxide detectors in commercial buildings in New York.

In New York, carbon monoxide alarms are required in houses under a 2009 law.

State Fire Administrator Bryant Stevens said while the state has discussed mandating commercial detectors, the focus has been on the residential side.

Battery-operated detectors can be purchased for about $20, though Weaver recommends one with a digital readout that would show a rise in carbon monoxide levels before they become dangerous.

But wiring houses or buildings for carbon monoxide detection can be much more expensive, said Doc Mitchell, a forensic construction expert. He said he spent $1,200 to wire his house for carbon monoxide detection


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## ICE (Feb 24, 2014)

Personal co detectors the size of a ballpoint pen are just around the corner.  It is worth noting that CO can migrate from one tenant space to another. So requiring a CO detector in certain occupancies might not reach the entire problem.


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## mark handler (Feb 24, 2014)

ICE said:
			
		

> Personal co detectors the size of a ballpoint pen are just around the corner.  It is worth noting that CO can migrate from one tenant space to another. So requiring a CO detector in certain occupancies might not reach the entire problem.


What would the sensitivity be, in a pocket or bag?


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## rth (Feb 24, 2014)

I personally see nothing wrong with UL 2034 listed CO alarms. I can't see anyone getting acute poisoning with one of these on the wall. An over sensitive alarm = a disabled alarm and that is what gets people killed. It's like telling people to put smoke alarms in the kitchen, it sounds good in theory but in reality it just results in a disabled or removed alarm.

Interesting reads:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/630080.html

http://www.chiefmontagna.com/book/Book%20Updates.htm


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## Gregg Harris (Feb 25, 2014)

rth said:
			
		

> I personally see nothing wrong with UL 2034 listed CO alarms. I can't see anyone getting acute poisoning with one of these on the wall. An over sensitive alarm = a disabled alarm and that is what gets people killed. It's like telling people to put smoke alarms in the kitchen, it sounds good in theory but in reality it just results in a disabled or removed alarm. Interesting reads:
> 
> http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/630080.html
> 
> http://www.chiefmontagna.com/book/Book%20Updates.htm


And to force consumers to purchase a product that does not protect all consumers and lends a false sense of security to the occupants of structure should not be required.

The testing criteria for UL 2034 is majorly flawed when it comes to protecting lives.

 If you are not a young healthy adult a CO alarm is not designed to protect you, and at the point of alarm the concentration that you are exsposed to could be lethal, and at the very least poisonous.


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## trevorpan (Apr 10, 2014)

So, do we have a consensus on what is a prudent and appropriate approach to handling non-residential projects?


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## steveray (Apr 10, 2014)

Sprinklers, smokes, and CO's in all new houses, but god forbid the businesses need to put them in.....


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