Worker hospitalized after CO found at Saskatoon hotel

A man was taken to hospital after carbon monoxide was detected at a Saskatoon hotel on Dec. 26 — the second such incident in two days.

It happened at the Hilton Garden Inn, downtown at the corner of 1st Avenue and 22nd Street.

Saskatoon fire crews were called to the hotel just after 9:30 a.m. CST.

A maintenance worker who worked in the basement was feeling sick. He was taken to hospital, although he wasn't seriously ill, according to officials.

Crews used gas monitors to find carbon monoxide levels of 120 parts per million near the boiler room. It's considered potentially dangerous if levels are above 100 parts per million.

 A unspecified problem with one of the boilers was determined to be source of the CO gas, according to the fire department.

The problem with the boiler was fixed and crews ventilated the basement until the carbon monoxide was at a safe level.

The fire department ran tests on the other floors of the hotel and didn't find high CO levels, so the rooms weren't evacuated.

A day earlier on Christmas morning, 34 Saskatoon apartment suites were evacuated after carbon monoxide was detected.

Fire crews were called to the building at 201 block of Avenue M South on the west side of the city before 11 a.m. CST.

It turned out the air intake on the furnace was blocked, causing CO levels to rise to 150 parts per million.

However, none of the residents had high readings or signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide, the Saskatoon fire department said.

Crews cleared the blockage and people were able to return to their homes by 1 p.m. CST.