22 hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning in central Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Nearly two dozen people were hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning after officials say they were exposed Sunday at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in central Utah.

The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office said 22 people were treated at area hospitals following the exposure at a Monroe church.

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Since the county did not have enough ambulances available to transfer all the sick people, emergency crews in Piute County and Gunnison Valley were tapped to help. The final transfer was made at 10 a.m. Monday morning.

“Thanks to all the agencies, especially those EMTs who sacrificed their holiday to make this happen,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “It took a lot of coordination between the EMS agencies, the hospitals, and even the local Bureau of EMS liaison to make it all happen.”

The exposures happened in Monroe’s East Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first person to report feeling sick was a 4-year-old girl, but first responders thought her breathing problems stemmed from an illness she dealt with earlier in the week.

Crews returned to the church an hour later, as an adult also reported feeling sick. He thought he was suffering from low blood sugar complications and sought treatment on his own.

When a family reported feeling sick after attending church, the fire department was called to check the building for possible carbon monoxide poisoning, the sheriff’s office said. High levels of carbon monoxide were found in the chapel, and firefighters evacuated the building.

The exact cause of the carbon monoxide is under investigation. The sheriff’s office said the church is working with local officials to resolve the issue.

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