2:25 PM: Carbon monoxide that sent four San Francisco Marriott Marquis guests to the hospital Thursday night may have come from a leaking water heater located near the hotel, a fire spokeswoman said this afternoon.
Firefighters had responded at about 10:40 p.m. Thursday to reports of multiple people suffering from flu-like symptoms at the hotel, located at the intersection of Fourth and Mission streets, San Francisco fire Lt. Mindy Talmadge said.
Four guests were transported to San Francisco General Hospital and St. Francis Memorial Hospital to be treated for poisoning due to high levels of carbon monoxide measured in two rooms at the hotel.
The potentially deadly gas apparently got into the rooms through the hotel’s air intake system, which draws air in from the outside, Talmadge said.
Three of the four guests were released from the hospital, and were back at the Marriott Marquis in new rooms this morning, hotel spokesman Sam Singer said. The fourth guest was expected to be released later this afternoon, Singer said.
The carbon monoxide apparently came from a leaking water heater that supplied a restaurant near the hotel, Talmadge said.
The heater had work done on it recently, she said.
Investigators were still gathering information on the incident this afternoon, she said.
Thursday’s incident may not have been the first carbon monoxide poisoning at the hotel this week.
Ambulances had also responded to the hotel on Tuesday evening for two separate reports of guests suffering from similar flu-like symptoms, Talmadge said.
Those guests were staying in the same rooms that were affected Thursday, but “there were no red flags to indicate carbon monoxide poisoning on Tuesday,” she said.
11:25 AM: The four San Francisco Marriott Marquis guests who were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning on Thursday night may not have been the first guests affected by the potentially deadly gas at the hotel, officials said today.
Ambulances responded to two separate reports of guests suffering from similar symptoms in the same rooms on Tuesday evening, fire spokeswoman Lt. Mindy Talmadge said.
The two guests of the Marriott Marquis, located at the intersection of Fourth and Mission Streets, were experiencing flu-like symptoms and were transported to a local hospital, Talmadge said.
Those guests were staying in the same two rooms that were found to have high levels of carbon monoxide on Thursday night, Talmadge said.
“Generally when there is a carbon monoxide issue, there are multiple people all suffering the same thing, which is what happened on Thursday night,” she said.
“There were no red flags to indicate carbon monoxide poisoning on Tuesday,” she said.
On Thursday, firefighters responded to reports of multiple people suffering from similar flu-like symptoms around 10:40 p.m.
Four guests were transported to San Francisco General Hospital and St. Francis Memorial Hospital and to be treated for poisoning due to high levels of carbon monoxide measured in the rooms, Talmadge said.
Three of the four guests were released from the hospital and were back in new rooms at the Marriott Marquis as of 10:30 a.m. today, hotel spokesman Sam Singer said.
The fourth guest is expected to be released from the hospital later today, Singer said.
The cause for the high levels of carbon monoxide is still under investigation, but could be due to the air intake system, which draws air in from the outside, Talmadge said.
9:21 AM: Four guests of the San Francisco Marriott Marquis were treated Thursday night for poisoning from carbon monoxide that apparently came from outside the hotel, officials said today.
The four guests were flight attendants staying in four separate rooms at the hotel, located at the intersection of Fourth and Mission streets, hotel spokesman Sam Singer said.
Around 10:40 p.m., the guests complained of flu-like symptoms and the hotel’s doctor was contacted. The doctor immediately recognized that there was a safety issue, Singer said.
“The hotel staff promptly contacted the fire department to assess the situation and assist with transporting the guests to area hospitals for treatment,” Singer said.
The four guests were transported to San Francisco General Hospital and St. Francis Memorial Hospital where they “are now doing well,” Singer said this morning.
Fire officials believe the cause of the flu-like symptoms is carbon monoxide after measuring high levels of the potentially deadly gas, a San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman said.
“Initially we believed it to be the heating system in the rooms,” fire Lt. Mindy Talmadge said. “But after further investigation we determined it couldn’t be the heating system because they use a steam system which doesn’t use carbon monoxide.”
Investigators discovered that the air intake for the hotel is on the Stevenson Street side of the building so it draws air in from the outside, Talmadge said.
“They’re looking into it,” Talmadge said. “They’re thinking the carbon monoxide might have come from outside through their intake system.”
The cause of the poisoning remains under investigation, she said.
9:06 AM: At least four people staying at a San Francisco hotel were sickened Thursday night by high levels of carbon monoxide and transported to local hospitals, a fire dispatcher said.
A call came in at 10:41 p.m. Thursday requesting medical assistance at 55 Fourth St., the location of the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, the dispatcher said.
Firefighters measured high levels of the potentially deadly gas, and at least four patients were transported to San Francisco General Hospital and St. Francis Memorial Hospital, the dispatcher said.
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