CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou Hannaford workers evacuated the store early Monday morning when a faulty compressor on the roof contaminated the interior of the building with carbon dioxide.
The Caribou Fire Department was alerted when an automated alarm went off in the store’s money room, according to Fire Chief Scott Susi.
“It came in as a smoke alarm,” Susi said, “but there was no smoke when we got there.”
The department’s air meters determined levels of carbon dioxide roughly three to four times the normal range, however, and “we evacuated everyone and started ventilating the area with fans.”
Low concentrations of carbon dioxide are not harmful, but high concentrations can displace oxygen in the air, causing symptoms such as rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, clumsiness, and fatigue, according to the web site Tox Town.
The fire department called Maine Mechanical Services and a technician discovered that a malfunctioning compressor was the culprit.
Susi said there were no reported injuries, and that staff are rotating in and out of the store to prevent prolonged exposure, adding that “getting out into normal air” is the best treatment for overexposure.
The grocery store’s central air systems, located on the roof of the building, provide both cold and warm air to the interior of the structure. Goods in the store, like produce, were not contaminated by the carbon dioxide, according to the Fire Chief.
Susi said the department checked early afternoon and the carbon dioxide levels had returned to normal so the store was reopened.
