Largo Fire Rescue is investigating an initial report of an elevated carbon monoxide level at the DaVita Bay Breeze Dialysis Center at 11550 Ulmerton Road. Five people were evaluated at the scene, and no one was taken to the hospital.
The call began shortly after 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. According to Summer Mahr of Largo Fire Rescue, first responders were already inside the building on an unrelated medical call when a device attached to their medical equipment alerted them to potentially abnormal air conditions. Additional crews were called to investigate.
Ten patients and five staff members were inside at the time, and the building was evacuated. Fire crews from Largo, Pinellas Park, Seminole, and St. Petersburg responded, along with Sunstar Paramedics and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Reports indicated that gas meters showed elevated carbon monoxide readings, but the potential exists that other substances used at the facility could be interfering with the meters. Crews are continuing to assess the air inside the building to determine the exact cause of the readings.
The response came one day after a hazardous materials incident at the Walmart on Tampa Road in Oldsmar, where firefighters reported elevated carbon monoxide readings and evacuated the store. In that incident, two airboats from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office were brought in to help ventilate the large structure.
Carbon monoxide is a gas that people cannot see or smell. Breathing it can cause headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. Severe exposure can cause loss of consciousness or death. Anyone who suspects carbon monoxide exposure should get to fresh air immediately and call 911 from outside.
Carbon monoxide alarms provide an early warning. The CDC recommends installing battery-powered alarms or alarms with battery backup near every sleeping area at home. In workplaces with potential sources of carbon monoxide, such as fuel-powered equipment, federal safety officials recommend regular air testing and personal monitors with audible alarms.
Please consider adding a carbon monoxide alarm alongside your smoke alarm, or use a device that detects either.
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