Fire Department

Firefighters responded to an apartment building on Kessel Court for reports of carbon monoxide (CO) alarms sounding. Ladder Co. 7 was met by a 911 caller who said they pulled into the underground parking garage and noticed a smell and heard an alarm. The fire crew did see a haze believed to be car exhaust. Using a handheld air monitor, firefighters identified carbon monoxide levels up to 115 parts per million (ppm) in the garage. The crew then noticed the exhaust fan in the garage wasn’t working.

Firefighters set up their own fan to ventilate the garage. They also went into the stairwells and hallways of the apartments above to inspect for carbon monoxide. No alarms were sounding in the building, but firefighters identified CO levels up to 35 ppm in the hallways. Engine Co. 7 responded to assist with ventilating the hallways and stairwells.

While on scene, firefighters identified small natural gas leaks in some pipe fittings and asked MGE to respond. Building personnel on site were advised to maintain good ventilation in the garage until the exhaust fan is repaired. Firefighters cleared the scene once carbon monoxide levels were resolved.