Article Photos

Four people were flown by emergency helicopters to Pittsburgh and 30 other members of a local congregation were taken to area hospitals after a carbon monoxide release on Sunday.

Nearly all of the people in attendance at Hessel Valley Lutheran Church in Chandlers Valley had been treated and released by Sunday evening. Four "met the criteria for hyperbaric oxygen treatment," according to Warren General Hospital CEO John Papalia. Those four were in stable condition at Warren General before they were flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Although no one was in the church, the parking lot was still full Sunday afternoon, according to Times Observer correspondent Candis Rieder.

The fellowship hall looked like it was abandoned quickly, with half-eaten servings of pie and cookies and cups of coffee and juice still sitting at the tables.

A single paper airplane and a toy truck stood witness to the presence of children at the time of the emergency.

Three people became ill in a short period of time from the end of the service to the beginning of a fellowship gathering, leading officials to clear the church and call 911.

"We had a young lady pass out in church, just before the end of the service," life-long member Vern Ekdahl, who lives next to the church, said. "Then another three-year-old youngster got sick."

Ekdahl took the boy, a family member, out of the church.

"They came over and said somebody else had passed out," he said. "It was obvious that something was wrong."

Sugar Grove, Russell, North Warren, and Busti, N.Y., volunteer fire departments responded. Of 34 patients, 28 were taken to Warren General and six to WCA Hospital in Jamestown. "I think everybody that was in church was looked at," Ekdahl said.

A spokesperson for WCA reported at 5 p.m. that all six patients taken there had been treated and released.

Ekdahl was one of the ones taken to Warren. "Warren General Hospital was outstanding," he said. "You just don't understand what happens when you dump 35 people in a hospital."

"We called in extra people to handle the load," Papalia said. "We certainly have procedures in place when we have large numbers, and we enacted that."

Ekdahl also had compliments for the responders at the scene.

"The crews that arrived were outstanding, as well," he said.

Ekdahl served as a point of contact for church members Sunday evening receiving numerous calls within minutes of arriving home from the hospital. At 6 p.m. he said he expected the remaining people to be released within an hour.

Ekdahl said the chimney for the church's furnaces was probably the cause of the problems. "When the furnace ran there was no place to vent," he said.

Those furnaces are located in the basement.

Sometimes, after Christmas, church services are held in the basement fellowship hall, Ekdahl said. That was not the case on Sunday. "We were very fortunate," he said. "It would have been much worse."

The furnace situation had already been checked Sunday evening. "We had people there today," Ekdahl said. "It's all going to be dealt with before next Sunday."

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. High levels of CO inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and death."

The treatment for most of the Hessel Valley patients was breathing oxygen, according to Papalia.

The four flown to Pittsburgh received more intensive treatment. In hyperbaric oxygen treatment, patients are placed in full-body chambers and oxygen under pressure is used to remove the carbon monoxide from their systems faster.