By St. Louis Post-Dispatch staff
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Copyright 2006 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
ST. LOUIS — The Missouri History Museum was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after a mechanical malfunction caused dangerous carbon monoxide to build up inside the building.
About 200 employees and visitors left the building. Several people were treated by paramedics, but none became seriously ill.
A carbon monoxide detector warned museum staff members of the danger about 1 p.m., said Kim Bacon, a St. Louis Fire Department spokeswoman. Firefighters confirmed unsafe carbon monoxide levels inside the building.
Six teens visiting from an Illinois school and two adults complained of headaches and were treated by paramedics, Bacon said. They did not require further treatment.
A fan that vents the building’s boiler system failed, Bacon said. The fan was fixed and the museum, at Lindell Boulevard and DeBaliviere Avenue in Forest Park, should reopen today.