Carbon-monoxide fumes sicken 13 at Lake City building

Thirteen people were treated Monday after a generator was left running in a covered garage of a Lake City apartment building.

Four residents of the building and six firefighters were taken to local hospitals with symptoms of carbon-monoxide poisoning; three of the victims were later treated in a hyperbaric chamber at Virginia Mason Medical Center, said Helen Fitzpatrick, Seattle fire spokeswoman.

Three residents refused to be transported to area hospitals but were treated at the scene.

Firefighters responded to a 911 call from the three-story building in the 12500 block of 35th Avenue Northeast at about 11:15 a.m. Inside, they found an employee of a carpet-cleaning service passed out on the third floor. In the building's garage, firefighters found a generator that was running idle in a van owned by the carpet-cleaning service.

Residents, many of whom complained of nausea and headaches, were evacuated from the building.

The door to the garage had been left open, which allowed fumes from the generator to spread through a portion of the building, Fitzpatrick said. Firefighters shut off the generator and fans were used to disperse the fumes.

None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening, Fitzpatrick said. Residents were allowed back into their homes about 2:30 p.m.