Six people were rushed to hospitals Saturday after firefighters found dangerously elevated carbon monoxide levels inside several homes on Kings Street in Brooklyn, prompting a blockwide safety check and emergency ventilation effort, officials said.
FDNY response and patient status
According to PIX11, the Fire Department of New York responded to Kings Street after crews detected heightened carbon monoxide readings at multiple addresses on the block. Firefighters transported six residents to nearby hospitals and evaluated additional people at the scene while monitoring neighboring units.
FDNY officials said two of the patients were in serious but non-life-threatening condition. Others were treated at the scene or taken to local hospitals for evaluation as firefighters ventilated the affected homes and checked surrounding residences until readings returned to safe levels.
Utility outage reported nearby
Service problems were also reported in the immediate area. Con Edison's outage map listed issues affecting the block and showed an estimated restoration time of 11 p.m. Saturday at the address tied to the emergency call.
The utility's outage tracker indicated problems at several nearby properties while emergency crews were clearing carbon monoxide and confirming that gas levels had dropped. Con Edison crews were reported working in the neighborhood alongside FDNY teams as ventilation and initial investigations continued.
Safety steps officials stressed
On its public education site, FDNY Smart warns that carbon monoxide is both colorless and odorless, which is why officials stress that working CO detectors are the first line of defense. The department advises residents to head outside immediately and call 911 if an alarm sounds or if anyone in the home starts feeling dizzy, nauseous, or short of breath.
Fire officials also recommend having fuel-burning appliances inspected regularly by a qualified technician and never using generators or ovens indoors. Those basic precautions, they note, can prevent a quiet leak from turning into an overnight emergency.
Context
The Kings Street incident is the latest in a string of carbon monoxide scares in Brooklyn this winter, including a Jan. 12 Gravesend incident in which eight people were hospitalized. City officials and tenant advocates have continued to urge residents to test their detectors, keep vents clear during storms, and promptly report outages or suspected appliance issues in hopes of avoiding more close calls.
