CO leak at Va. hotel hospitalizes 8

By By John Warren
The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Eight people at an oceanfront hotel were taken to the hospital with high levels of carbon monoxide about noon Sunday, a Beach fire official said.

Though the level of carbon monoxide in the spa area of the Ocean Sands Hotel was very high, none of the injuries is considered life-threatening, Virginia Beach Fire Department spokesman Leon Dextradeur said. The Ocean Sands Hotel is located at 22nd Street and Atlantic Avenue.

The problem was determined to be an electrical short in a spa motor that had caused a ventilation fan to malfunction, Dextradeur said. The fan didn't push carbon monoxide out of the equipment area, Dextradeur said.

Dextradeur said the possibility of such a carbon monoxide leak exists anywhere there are natural gas-powered appliances. If you own such an appliance, he said, a carbon monoxide detector is a must for prevention.

Around 9 p.m. Sunday, fire officials responded to the second "hazmat" call of the day at the Oceanfront. At Rudee Inlet area, there were reports of a diesel fuel leak. Fire officials were still investigating late Sunday.

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