Car left running in garage sparks CO alert at Northfield retirement home

Over 50 residents of a Northfield retirement home had to be evacuated on Friday morning after a car left running overnight in an attached garage caused carbon monoxide to enter the building.

According to a release from the City of Northfield, emergency crews responded to the Northfield Retirement Community Parkview West at 6:45 a.m. after receiving concerns over carbon monoxide (CO) levels.

Northfield Police found that a resident had moved their car inside a garage in the building the night before to avoid hail damage from the storms that rolled through the area.

The car's push-button ignition was inadvertently left running and ran overnight in the closed garage. As a result, carbon monocide entered the hallway areas of the building.

Fire crews determined CO levels were high and began to evacuate residents. Staff at the Northfield Retirement Community helped residents into another building.

Fire crews monitored CO levels in hallways and units while checking each apartment for residents. EMS crews evaluated 50 residents and treated one for asthma-related symptoms. No resident needed to be hospitalized.

After ventilating the building and re-testing the air quality for over two hours, the fire department let residents back inside once the CO levels had gone down.

According to the release, North Retirement Community will add more CO detectors to the facility in liaison with the local fire department.