Broadway Theatre carbon monoxide exposure sends about 30 to emergency room
The Broadway Theatre on Thursday, Dec. 3.
After carbon monoxide reached unsafe levels at the Broadway Theatre and sent about 40 people to the emergency room on Dec. 2, final repairs were made to the heating system on Monday.
Board Chair for Friends of Broadway Cynthia Kilmer said to her knowledge, nobody present at the theatre that would have beeen affected by the carbon monoxide exposure was admitted into the hospital, but were treated in the emergency room.
According to a press release from Lt. Michael Dunham from the Mount Pleasant Fire Department, the fire department responded at 10:04 p.m. on Wednesday. Air samples recorded 80 parts per million of carbon monoxide. 70 parts per million is considered to be a dangerous level. The theatre has since worked diligently to make the necessary repairs to reopen the building to the public, stated the press release.
DTE Energy identified a defect in the furnace in the theatre after turning it off.
The building no longer has any recorded measures of carbon monoxide.
People that would have been affected were at the rehearsal for "A Celebration of Christmas" on Wednesday. With the first showing on Friday canceled, other showings that weekend were performed at the Mount Pleasant High School instead of the Broadway Theatre.
Kilmer said the carbon monoxide detector in the theatre wasn't functioning properly, so it didn't go off when the amount of carbon monoxide reached an unsafe level. In Feb. 2015 carbon monoxide levels in the theatre reached unsafe levels, but the alarm sounded and people in the theatre called the fire department, fixing the problem right away, she said.
The theatre purchased three new carbon monoxide detectors on Dec. 3 to try to prevent unsafe exposure levels in the future.
"We still haven't gotten to the bottom of (the cause) yet," she said.
This morning, the heating company said it suspects the cause of the exposure was dead birds blocking the theater's chimney.
A chimney sweep company came to the theatre on Dec. 3 to unblock the chimney, Kilmer said.
"I was up until 4 a.m. in the morning calling people (that were there last night) and going to their houses," Kilmer said.
She said she believes they have gotten into contact with everyone with a risk of being affected by the exposure.
The theatre had no written plan if there was a carbon monoxide exposure, but have been following instructions given to them by the fire department, Kilmer said.
Kilmer said the theatre would handle whether or not people who were affected by the exposure would get monetary compensation from the theatre after they focused on notifying everyone of their health is in danger.
"We are insured," she said. "Other issues (like money) are secondary."
Public Information Officer for the Mount Pleasant Police Department Jeff Browne said the theater is still in the process of trying to rule out causes for the exposure.
"They don't know definitively, I assume it takes time, they don't want to lay the blame before they know for sure," Browne said.
He said this was a good opportunity to warn people of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.
"It's important to raise awareness, not that they did anything wrong," Browne said. "We want people to be aware of ways to keep themselves safe."
According to a flyer hanging on the doors of the Broadway Theatre, the Celebration of Christmas play was performed at Mount Pleasant High School due to a "furnace malfunction" in the theatre.
Information about next weekend's performances at the Broadway Theatre will be dependent on the status of the repairs to the theatre and finding the cause of the exposure.
This story was updated on Dec. 15.
