19 Sickened By High CO Levels At Midtown Church, FDNY Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Nineteen people fell ill at a Midtown Manhattan church that was evacuated Tuesday after firefighters detected high levels of carbon monoxide, an FDNY spokesman said.

Firefighters arrived at St. Malachy's The Actors' Church on West 49th Street around 10:20 a.m. while responding to a call of a sick person when they detected high levels of carbon monoxide in the building, an FDNY spokesman said.

The building was evacuated and the scene was placed under control around 11 a.m. Fire officials did not say what caused carbon monoxide levels at the church to spike, but said that the department will investigate.

Three of the people that fell ill Tuesday were sent to area hospitals while the rest were treated at the scene. Of the injuries, only one was considered serious but non life threatening, fire officials said. Many of the people who were evacuated from the building were given oxygen on the sidewalk as they recovered, according to witness video from the scene.