A potential disaster was averted at a Wakaw care home after a carbon monoxide (CO) leak was discovered at the Lakeview Pioneer Lodge.
A routine check on the morning of Aug. 4 found high levels of CO that continued to rise over the next two days. The high readings were found on all four monitors in the facility, which were installed two years ago. The unusual levels of CO were noticed at 6:50 a.m. and a 911 call was made three minutes later.
Three staff members and one resident reported feeling nauseous and with headaches. Paramedics assessed them immediately and none required hospital treatment. Residents were moved to another part of the building while the affected area was being ventilated and inspected.
"I'm really proud of our staff in how they reacted to this situation," said Lynn Kohle, site manager of Lakeview Pioneer Lodge. "Their quick reaction to enact a Code Brown resulted in our being able to ensure the safety of our residents and other staff."
The incident was a successful application of the Saskatoon Health Region's "Code Brown" protocol, designed for any hazardous spills or releases. Carbon monoxide was recently added to the Code Brown list in response to a December 2010 leak at St. Mary's Villa in Humboldt that led to three deaths. The Saskatoon Health Region was fined $154,000 in July for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in connection to the case.
"It's still fresh in everybody's mind and lots of work has been done on Code Brown since then," Kohle said of the Humboldt incident. "All I can say is thank goodness for the monitors, they did their job."
Since the inspection, all CO detectors at the facility have been replaced at the suggestion of SaskEnergy and the new monitors are being checked more frequently.
The cause of the leak is still being determined but the home's fuel-burning appliances will be serviced and inspected. In the meantime, the boilers will be turned down. Representatives from the health region as well as staff from Saskatchewan Labour Relations and Workplace Safety are conducting the inspections.
Ventilation improvements have also been made to the kitchen.
The Lakeview Pioneer Lodge is home to 46 residents and employs 70 staff.
As might be expected, residents, staff and family members have had plenty of questions about what happened, but Kohle said most of the response has been positive.
"I think people have been appreciative of the quick response," she said. "People had questions but generally they were quite happy with the way things were handled."
