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UPDATE: Poor ventilation likely cause of carbon monoxide incident at Delta farm

All 42 patients have been released from hospital, according to Delta Fire
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(File photo)

Poor ventilation while operating power washing units at a Delta farm led to 42 people being sent to Lower Mainland hospitals on Saturday night, according to Delta Fire Battalion Chief Neil Shuster.

Delta Fire, a hazardous material team and close to a dozen ambulances all responded at 2:57 p.m. to what was initially reported as exposure to a cleaning product, Shuster said.

Upon arriving at Windset Farms, crews discovered that workers at the farm had been exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide.

“I believe that they were working inside the building with possible powerwashing units that were gas powered,” said Shuster.

“It’s the carbon monoxide that’s dispelled from [the] gas engine.”

Ambulances 42 people to hospital at 2:57 p.m. Saturday, a B.C. Emergency Health Services spokesperson confirmed.

Of those, 10 had been reported as in serious condition and 32 in stable condition.

All 42 have since been released, Shuster said.

WorkSafe BC spokesperson Trish Knight Chernecki said that “carbon monoxide was confirmed in six workers” and that an investigation by WorkSafeBC is underway.

Carbon monoxide levels in the greenhouse have since returned to normal, Chernecki said.

Windset Farms has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Delta South MLA Ian Paton and Kamloops South Thompson MLA Todd Stone sent their condolences to the victims.


@katslepian

katya.slepian@bpdigital.ca

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