At least two people were hurt, one of them taken to the hospital, after they were exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide in or near a Newhall coin laundry.
About 5:45 p.m., officials with the Los Angeles County Fire Department received reports of two people found unconscious inside a laundry facility on the 22500 block of 14th Street.
“Apparently, two people smelled something coming from the (coin laundry),” Fire Department Supervisor Melanie Flores said.
“One patient was taken to the hospital,” she said.
At 6:30 p.m., when fire officials identified the unknown gas as carbon monoxide, they alerted medical staff at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital to the possibility of other patients, Flores said.
More than a dozen Fire Department vehicles — including at least one hazardous materials truck — were dispatched to the incident.
Once the gas was identified, additional firefighters including another fire chief were dispatched to the site.
As a precaution, staffers working at SCVTV near the coin laundry facility were sent home.
Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless and tasteless, but highly toxic. Exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide can result in seizure, coma or death.
