Workers overcome by carbon monoxide rescued on Northwest Side
Sun-Times Media Wire June 27, 2012 3:00PM
Updated: June 27, 2012 3:05PM
Two workers who passed out after being overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from a power washer in the basement of a Northwest Side building Wednesday morning were rescued by firefighters.
A call came in at 11:32 a.m. for a carbon monoxide investigation in the 7100 block of West Higgins Road, according to Fire Media Affairs spokeswoman Meg Alheim.
Firefighters found two men in the basement unconscious just before noon and took them to Resurrection Medical Center, where one was listed in serious to critical condition and the other was in fair to serious condition. Their ages were unknown, Alheim said.
The men were working in the basement “in a pretty confined space, about 20-by-30,” using a gas-powered power washer, Alheim said. The small, confined space was also not ventilated well, and the men were overcome by the fumes.
“It became too much for a confined space that wasn’t ventilated,” she said.
