September 16, 2008

Firefighters Evacuate Local Supermarket

         White River Township Firefighters responded to the Kroger Grocery Store on Meridian Park Drive Tuesday around 3:30PM on a report of a possible gas leak in the structure. Upon arrival crews found high levels of Carbon Monoxide in portions of the building. During the check of the building several Kroger employees were complaining of headaches and sickness. There were approximately 40 employees in the store at the time of the incident. Firefighters wearing self contained breathing apparatus used specific 4-gas monitors to check for the Carbon Monoxide. After finding several patients in and around the structure, a triage and treatment area was established. 15 patients and one firefighter were transported to area hospitals, and another 10-12 were treated and released on the scene. All patients transported to the hospital were treated and released, including the firefighter. After investigating the scene for about 2 ½ hours it was found that construction equipment being used in the building for remodeling was not properly ventilated and caused the Carbon Monoxide buildup. The store was shut down by the Health Department until the proper ventilation was completed.

    To view the WTHR news story, click HERE.

   

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