By Jonann Brady
The Baldwin Fire Department responded to an emergency call at 2:11 last Wednesday morning, after a resident smelled burning oil at 773 Merrick Road.
Earlier on Tuesday evening, a resident noticed smoke in the chimney but the fire department was not called at that time. When firefighters arrived on the scene later, they discovered the building's oil burner had malfunctioned, creating a "puffback," or small explosion. Usually, a puffback is a small annoyance, but in this case, smoke filled the building.
Firefighters then took a carbon monoxide reading and found "dangerously high" levels of the gas, said Chief Kevin McEllyn. The building, which houses 10 apartments, was evacuated in a matter of minutes. Firefighters had to forcibly enter two apartments and escort the occupants, including two small children, to the street after they could not be roused, said Operations Chief Jerry Brown.
Residents were offered medical treatment but all refused it, said Brown. The department set up ventilator fans throughout the building, and residents were back in their beds about two hours later. Merrick Road was also closed during that time.
The Building Department was notified of the faulty burner and the landlord will have to get it repaired and inspected, said McEllyn.
Both McEllyn and Brown said that the incident underlines the need for homes to have carbon monoxide detectors. The gas is odorless, colorless, tasteless and potentially deadly. Brown said that residents were lucky the oil burner malfunctioned when it did.
"It's a good thing it happened when it happened," he said. "It could have been fatal."
