TFD Issues Warning After Residents Ignore Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Teaneck fire officials are urging residents to immediately report carbon monoxide alarms after they said some tenants in a Prince Street apartment building ignored and disconnected the devices.

Firefighters were called to the building around 12:40 a.m. Monday on a report of an activated carbon monoxide alarm, according to a department news release. Crews found high levels of the deadly gas throughout the building and evacuated six apartments.

The tenants were checked by the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps and temporarily relocated to the lobby of a nearby building.

Only one tenant in the building had called to report the carbon monoxide alarms, the Fire Department said. Others had ignored the alerts or disconnected the detectors as the alarms sounded. 

"This is the third apartment building recently where some building residents ignored their alarms," Teaneck Fire Chief Anthony Verley said. "Your notification of the fire department assists both you, your family and your neighbors. Do not delay.”

Firefighters vented out the building after shutting down a furnace and hot water heater in the basement. Public Service Electric and Gas restarted the water heater and found carbon monoxide levels stayed at zero, while the furnace was left out of service until it could be repaired.

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