In order to prevent another evacuation due to carbon monoxide, Nelson Hall has been initiating procedures such as turning the furnace off and on every several hours and placing fans in the courtyard to keep carbon monoxide that had gathered there at a low level, according to vice chancellor and chief marketing officer Kevin Carroll.
“It’s not something you want to do forever, but [Facilities has] a fix that’s keeping it at a low level,” said Carroll.
The exact cause has not been identified, but Carroll confirmed that the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) system was not the culprit.
“Typically in a case of carbon monoxide, it’s the first place you wanna look,” said Carroll.
In a letter from associate provost for student life Patti Helton, “Recent weather in Denver has produced nighttime temperature inversions that may have led to the trapping of both carbon monoxide and cold air.” The letter also said they would fix the venting mechanism is necessary.
“[Facilities is] investigating what part, if any, of the courtyards have a collection of carbon monoxide, why would carbon monoxide collect in the courtyards, why would it cause the alarms to go off now, said Carroll. “We had similar weather last year, unusual wind…it’s a bit of a puzzle that they have to put together.”
Students evacuated Nelson Hall last Friday, Oct. 26 after an alarm alerted students to the presence of carbon monoxide in the building.
“I thought that the experience was pretty frightening,” said sophomore Megan Neumann. “It was inconvenient, I mean it was 4 o’clock in the morning and a bunch of us were trying to find a place to sleep, calling people in other dorms and waking them up. At the same time though, I’m really glad that they took the alarms seriously and got us all out and have been working hard to figure out where the carbon monoxide is coming from and trying to fix it.”
According to Department Sgt. of Campus Safety Stephen Banet, officers were dispatched at 3:27 a.m. The Denver Fire Department (DFD) arrived at 3:34 a.m., followed by Denver Health at 3:39.
“The Denver Fire Department took readings on the second and third floor,” said Banet. “The strongest concentrations were around 20 parts per million.”
According to Carroll, all residence halls are outfitted with carbon monoxide detectors, which go off at 20 parts per million; Carroll said.
Several individual carbon monoxide alarms went off on Friday evening, but students did not have to evacuate. Students also received emails on Saturday requesting they keep their windows shut for the time being.
“The normal readings are less than 5 parts per million,” said Carroll.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas. Low to moderate inhalation of the gas can result in headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness. High levels can damage the nervous system and even death. Health problems can start around 35 parts per million according to Banet.
Students were not able to re-enter the building until roughly 9 a.m. Friday morning; breakfast was available in Nagel Cafeteria and Halls Cafeteria. In addition, students received an email requesting they prepare for another evacuation just in case by gathering any essentials. The email also instructed students to go outside if they felt lightheaded and informed them that hot water was limited and that they should shower later in the day.
Nelson’s dining hall was also closed Saturday Oct. 27 and Sunday Oct. 28, but eventually opened early to serve dinner Sunday evening. Carroll said the cafeteria closure was another safety precaution. According to Carroll, the closures were not related to food safety.
“They simply just wanted to evacuate the building in total,” said Carroll.
The first carbon monoxide evacuation took place on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 4:25 a.m., according to Banet. Students were allowed to re-enter the building after around 10 minutes.
Banet said fire drills were also held in the area around Nelson Hall on Oct. 22 and 23.
The Denver Fire Department found carbon monoxide levels around 1500 parts per million in her apartment. Levels in Nelson were around 20 parts per million.
According to a 2009 Clarion article by Catty Naff the carbon monoxide alarms were added to all university buildings and off-campus apartments in 2009 in effort to increase an “aspect of safety” after the death of Lauren Johnson, a second year Korbel graduate student.
Johnson died after a prolonged carbon monoxide exposure in her off-campus apartment on Jan 5, 2009. At the time, Johnson’s apartment was not equipped with a carbon monoxide monitor .
