Several volunteers at the Wayside Food Bank on Walton Street in Portland became ill from an apparent carbon monoxide leak in the warehouse at the facility Wednesday. Operations Manager Don Morrison said they became extremely ill within minutes of beginning work shortly after noon. He says three volunteers were taken to the hospital after carbon monoxide detectors failed to function properly.
"They all started to get really dizzy, their lips were tingling, couldn't stand up and two of them were vomiting," Morrison said.
The Portland Fire Department responded and found high levels of carbon monoxide in the warehouse. Morrison said the food bank will remain closed until the source of the leak can be fixed and new carbon monoxide detectors are installed. He said he's waiting for news from the hospital about his volunteers.
