WOMAN HOSPITALIZED;

5 OTHERS TESTED AT FOX

2ND C-O LEAK

EMPTIES OUT

189 MAIN ST.

Building Next To Oneonta Hotel

By LIBBY CUDMORE  & IAN AUSTIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

ONEONTA – A woman was hospitalized at late morning today and all the office and professional workers at landmark 189 Main St. were once again evacuated for high levels of carbon monoxide, the second time in four days.

The building was also evacuated Friday due to carbon monoxide from a faulty boiler at the former Oneonta Hotel next door, but Assistant Fire Chief Jim Maloney today, interviewed at the scene, said the source of this second contamination was still being investigated.

A woman who worked on the third floor was transported to Fox Hospital by ambulance after showing signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, including blue lips and fingertips. Maloney said that five other people in the building also went to Fox Hospital as a precaution.

Oneonta Public Transit assisted with the evacuation by providing a bus as a warming station for the displaced tenants. NYSEG and City Code Enforcement inspectors are currently on the scene trying to determine the source of the carbon monoxide leak.

The highest concentrations of carbon monoxide were on the second and third floors, with the highest level being in Suite 204, which houses offices for STAP, the Southern Tier AIDS Program.

According to Maloney, firefighters ventilated the building and carbon monoxide levels are dropping. “We’re hoping to have the building open within a few hours,” he said.

On Friday, Jan. 25, the building was also evacuated for high levels of carbon monoxide.

Inspectors found that a piece of tape had been placed over the air inlet on the boiler in the basement of 195 Main St., next door.  According to Maloney, the carbon monoxide from the malfunctioning furnace went through a vent located near the fresh-air intake of 189 Main.