Leaking Gas in Dormitory Sickens More than 100 People, Kills One

More than 100 teenagers and adults attending summer programs at Roanoke College became ill Friday when carbon monoxide gas began leaking into a college dormitory. College spokeswoman Teresa Gereaux said that the victims, complaining of headaches, nausea, shakiness, and dizziness, were taken in ambulances or vans to two different hospitals in the Roanoke Valley. An elderly man being transported died before reaching Lewis-Gale Medical Center, one of the hospitals.

Of the 62 people taken to Lewis-Gale, 5 were admitted, with 4 listed in fair condition. One person was in critical condition, but Dr. Robert Dowling said the woman is "awake, alert, and responding." Four remaining people are still being evaluated, according to Candi Carroll, director of emergency services. At Cariolion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, spokesman Steve Munsey said that 49 people were treated and 5 of them may be admitted. Munsey said that the patients were between 15 and 82 years old, and they were all given oxygen through face masks as their blood was being checked for carbon monoxide.

About 100 of the guests in the affected dormitory had come from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina to attend a three-day Lutheran conference entitled "Power in the Spirit." There were also 37 teenage girls staying in the dorm as part of the Upward Bound program. The Lutheran group appeared to have more people severely affected by the gas leak, but according to Dowling, the reason for that is the place they were located in the dorm and not the difference in their ages.

Shortly before dawn Friday, some of the people staying in the dormitory began calling campus police from the emergency telephone in the dorm. Campus officers notified the Salem Fire Department, who sent officials out immediately. When they arrived, the scene inside the dormitory was chaotic. "One woman fell on the floor in the bathroom," said 80-year-old Annabelle Minter. Minter said she also felt "on the dizzy side" and was taken to a hospital, but her roommate was even sicker.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that can quickly cause illness or death. "It’s essentially like drowning on the air," Dr. Dowling told reporters. Leaks in public buildings such as dormitories usually come from heaters, furnaces, and other equipment powered by gasoline.

The source of the carbon monoxide leak in the dormitory is still under investigation. The building was erected in the 1920s and renovated in the 1980s.