Carbon monoxide leaked twice in two months in Figueira da Foz building

In a building in Figueira da Foz that was partially evacuated on Friday due to a carbon monoxide (CO) leak, a similar situation occurred in November 2023: two residents were hospitalized due to poisoning, a fire source told Lusa.

The residents in question, a young couple living in an apartment on the 8th floor (the same ones who have now alerted authorities when they discovered two dead birds in their kitchen when they returned home), were hospitalized a year ago. 2 months due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

At that time, they were sent to the Pedro Espano Hospital in Matosinhos to undergo treatment in a pressure chamber, a device used in serious cases that allows the inhalation of pure oxygen administered at high pressure above atmospheric pressure into a controlled environment.

In a conversation with Lusa, the head of the fire service of Sapadores da Figueira da Foz and the municipal coordinator of civil protection, Nuno Pinto, noted that the warning given by the couple now will help to avoid a more serious incident with possible casualties.

“Carbon monoxide is the so-called ideal drug. It cannot be seen, it has no smell or taste, it does not make noise, but it is very dangerous because it is a highly toxic gas,” Nuno Pinto emphasized. , admitting that when they encountered the two dead birds, the two residents carefully assessed the danger they were in and alerted authorities.

The operation, announced at 23:41 on Friday and involving the resources of the Sapadores e Voluntários and PSP Figueira da Foz firefighters, resulted in the evacuation of 14 people, eight adults and six children, living in apartments on the street 6th to 9th floors , all from the same faction, are located on the northwestern facade of a 10-story building located on Rua Rancho das Cantarinhas, in Buarcos.

The 14 residents were welcomed into the home by friends and family, and on Saturday afternoon, technicians from the propane company supplying the building began shutting off gas and removing meters from apartments where abnormal levels of carbon monoxide were observed. .

“Gas will continue to be cut off until this entire situation is resolved and a general inspection is carried out by a certified company. We are doing everything we can and as quickly as possible,” Sara Costa, from the company responsible for the condominium, told Lusa that the property was damaged.

Throughout the day on Tuesday, work will continue to inspect the building’s air ducts, which began on Monday, using special equipment (including a small video camera) that runs through the pipes “from floor to floor,” the condominium administrator explained.

Although, according to Sarah Costa, the cause of the carbon monoxide leak has not yet been determined, possible problems with connections to the appropriate ducts – which should be self-contained, one for the removal of heating gases (which includes carbon monoxide) and another for water vapor from kitchen hoods – after first unblocking the flue.

“Camera [de vídeo] it moves up and down, and part of the chimney on the 10th floor was broken to unblock the duct. And another one will take place on the 9th floor,” he said.

Regarding an incident in November that resulted in a couple living in an 8th-floor building being hospitalized due to carbon monoxide poisoning, the condominium company’s official said the cause would be different because it would affect the unit’s water heater itself. : “The problem was their unit, they were the only ones with a water heater and they had to change the water heater.”

The building in question, built more than 30 years ago, has 64 apartments, more than half of which are occupied, mostly by renters, and the rest closed – seven on each floor from the first to the ninth and one set back. on the 10th floor, owned by a developer, part of which appears to have been under construction for several years.

Between two carbon monoxide leaks in the past two months, a third incident involving a proposed furnace installation in an old ground-floor store converted into residential use led firefighters to a building that was filled with smoke.

The furnace, which authorities said had already been removed, was accidentally connected to a steam vent, causing smoke to spread throughout the building, shocking residents.

The same people who were surprised this time (and some were woken up) by the emergency services and firefighters, when the latter, wearing masks and breathing apparatus, entered several apartments.