Earlier today 21 Virginia Tech students were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning in the Collegiate Suites apartment complex off Patrick Henry Road.
Five females were found unresponsive in one apartment and were flown to hospitals by helicopter, said Blacksburg police Capt. Bruce Bradbery. Two were sent to the University of Virginia Medical Center on ventilators, and the three other were sent to Duke University Medical Center. Four of the young women remain unresponsive; one female transported to Duke has regained partial consciousness, Bradbery said. The five young women who were sent away via helicopter were all living in the same apartment at 1306 Henry Lane. They were found after a nearby resident called the gas company of the complex to investigate a smell, Bradbery said.
Seventeen other people were taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital for treatment, Bradbery said. Bradbery said that the level of carbon monoxide to begin indication of symptoms is 25 parts per million (ppm). When the fire department conducted a reading after the building was evacuated, the reading reached 500 ppm. After 30 minutes of ventilation, that reading went down to 200 ppm.
Bradbery said that after a preliminary investigation the leak was caused by a faulty pressure relief valve in the hot water heater. Because the valve was open, the fuel was constantly burning and the carbon monoxide was not ventilating. In addition, all four doors inside the apartment were closed preventing the carbon monoxide from exiting.
The Blacksburg police received a call at 11:18 a.m. and reached the scene at 11:23 a.m. There were no carbon monoxide detectors in the building because there is no requirement for them. The apartment will be sealed indefinitely and investigated thoroughly, Bradbery said. Residents are allowed to enter to gather last minute items. The fire department is providing housing for them in a local hotel.
The names of students who were hospitalized have not been released, police are still trying to contact the families of those affected.
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