Senior center doors open again

Barry Porterfield

Nov. 6, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The doors are open again at the Pauls Valley senior citizens center after the building was evacuated Wednesday because of a suspected gas leak.

City officials now think the leak may have been related to problems with carbon monoxide or simply a lack of oxygen.

"A gas leak is ruled out," City Manager James Frizell said. On Wednesday, officials suspected a leak of either natural gas or carbon monoxide.

"As we were going over it, we figure what happened is they didn't turn on the vent hood," he said, referring to senior center kitchen workers and a vent above the stove and cooking area.

"We believe it depleted the oxygen levels, or it really was carbon monoxide or a combination of the two," Frizell said.

Authorities responding to Wednesday morning's call were told that when three kitchen employees were beginning preparation work for the daily meal, they smelled an unusual odor. At first they thought something electrical had burned, but later said it began to have a petroleum odor.

Then the trio claimed they began to get headaches, followed by upset stomachs and felt dizzy.

Moments later those workers and a handful of seniors inside the center went to the parking lot, where the workers received immediate attention such as oxygen supplied by masks. The three workers were later taken to the local hospital.

Work to determine and repair the leak began almost immediately as the center remained closed Wednesday before reopening the following day.

In an attempt to avoid a similar situation, Frizell said plans are in place to install a device in the center's kitchen area alerting staff to any kind of problem with carbon monoxide or oxygen.

Newstex ID: KRTB-1062-39518519