03-19-2013 Employees Fall Ill at Holiday Inn Express

Battalion Chief Rick Sewell said the two women were in the laundry room located in the basement, when they started feeling nauseous and dizzy. When one of them began vomiting, they left the room and someone from the motel called 911.

Once on the scene, Chief Sewell ordered the immediate evacuation of the entire building as a precaution. John Bilovsky, visiting from New Jersey, was in his room when he heard the sound of Chattanooga firefighters in the hallway talking to each other through their air masks on their 800 radios. When he opened the door to his room, the firefighters told him he had to leave immediately. The two housekeeping employees were transported by Hamilton County EMS to Memorial Hospital Hixson. One of the women was treated and released; the other was admitted for further observation and stabilization.

Chief Sewell said the firefighters used gas monitors to check the air inside the building, and they detected elevated levels of carbon monoxide. The firefighters set up high-powered fans to ventilate the building. Once the air was deemed safe to breathe again, the building was turned back over to motel management. Chief Sewell said motel maintenance and technicians with the Chattanooga Gas Company would work to determine the source of the leak and make the necessary repairs.

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