The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Eight people staying at a motel in South Raleigh were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning Tuesday after a water heater malfunctioned.

The Super 8 Motel at 2501 S. Saunders St. was evacuated while firefighters searched for the source of the leak.

James Poole, division chief with the Raleigh Fire Department, said investigators found a heavy concentration of carbon monoxide in the laundry room.

"There was 35 parts per million in the laundry room," he said. "One hundred parts per million is lethal."

Emergency workers learned about the leak just before 4:30 a.m., when five hotel guests in a vehicle on Glenwood Avenue flagged an ambulance and said they were sick.

Emergency workers determined they had symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and took them to WakeMed's Raleigh campus.

Two employees and 35 guests were evacuated, including three people who were taken to WakeMed.

A hazmat team ventilated the hotel and had the problem under control by 7 a.m., Poole said.

Copyright 2008 News & Observer