In February, servers and other workers at Legal Sea Foods restaurant on Long Island began to worry when their manager disappeared for several hours.
Co-workers searched the restaurant for the manager and when assistant manager, Megan Smith passed out during the search, the workers knew something was not right.
Right before she passed out, Megan was saying, “Where’s Steve? Is Steve all right?”. When police and emergency responders arrived at the restaurant that evening, they became dizzy and nauseated fairly quickly. The problem was a carbon monoxide leak.
Manager, Steven Nelson was pronounced dead at Huntington Hospital. 27 others, including 3 police officers and 4 ambulance personnel, were transported to area hospital with nonlife threatening symptoms.
Town of Huntington spokesman A.J. Carter said carbon monoxide detectors are only required in places where people sleep under New York state fire code. But this recent tragedy has promoted the restaurant’s owner to questions whether regulations should be changed to require carbon monoxide detectors in commercial spaces.
The town issued the restaurant a summons for having defective heating equipment.
Source: Wall Street Journal Online
