Dorm lacked carbon monoxide detectors
Salem, Va. ? There was no carbon monoxide detector in the Roanoke College dormitory where one person died and dozens of teenagers and adults were sickened after a leak of the odorless gas, but the school is considering installing them, a spokeswoman said Saturday.
One woman remained hospitalized Saturday.
State law doesn’t require carbon monoxide detectors in college dorms, but spokeswoman Teresa Gereaux said the private school would consider installing them.
A total of 114 people were taken to two hospitals Friday after waking up with headaches, nausea, dizziness and shakiness. A 91-year-old man was found dead in the dorm, but medical examiners had not determined the cause of death.
Investigators were focusing on a gas water heater system as the possible cause, Gereaux said.
Five people had been hospitalized overnight at Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem, but four were released Saturday, authorities said. The fifth was a woman who Gereaux said had been upgraded from critical to stable.