Seven people were taken to hospital Tuesday afternoon due to a carbon monoxide leak inside a Pitt Meadows’ medical centre.
Fire officials got to the scene at Beacon Square along Ford Road around 3:30 p.m.
When they walked into the building, their CO alarms detected high levels of carbon monoxide throughout.
Officials then decided to evacuate the entire building, which had about 20 people inside.
Pitt Meadows fire Chief Mike Larson said the building is full of medical offices.
“There’s a Pharmasave, there’s a doctor’s office, a therapist and another doctors’ office that was closed for the day,” said Larson. “The levels were high throughout the building.”
Six people were transported to hospital by ambulance. One other person went to hospital on their own as they weren’t feeling well.
Larson says the cause of the leak was due to a faulty H-Vac system.
He adds the building had no CO detectors or alarms.
“We definitely like to see those in all businesses throughout Pitt Meadows and in all houses,” he said. “Especially anybody using gas furnaces or gas fireplaces.”
Larson adds if the building had CO detectors, crews would have known immediately to evacuate.
— With files from Catherine Urquhart
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