Carbon monoxide causes Ruth’s Chris evacuation
Posted by Jeff Quinton on February 3, 2008About 150 diners had their meals interrupted Saturday night by a carbon monoxide emergency.
Baltimore fire officials say the Ruth’s Chris Steak House at the Pier 5 Hotel at the Inner Harbor, the 700 block of Eastern Avenue was evacuated because of dangerous levels of the odorless, colorless and deadly gas.
Fire department spokesman Kevin Cartwright says 13 people were taken to hospitals with mild symptoms of CO poisoning - lightheadedness, dizziness and nausea. Reports indicate those persons were all workers in the restaurant.
In addition to the diners, 50 restaurant employees also were rushed outside. Cartwright says the hotel was ventilated but didn’t have to be evacuated.
Cartwright says CO was measured at 400 parts per million. That’s four times the amount that makes an evacuation mandatory.
It is believed the carbon monoxide may have originated in the restaurant’s boilers.
Comment by Dianna
The media sure is avoiding this catastrophy. I have a family member that works at Ruth’s Chris
and they have been complaining of headaches for over a week before this incident. The manager that night knew she had a very ill worker that finally demanded a 911 call for her own health. None of the news items tells of how just about every trash can in the place had workers hurling in them and the bathroom stalls. That manager needs to find a new job. Your employees come first. If you are not a people person and listen to your employees then you do not deserve a management postion. If any of those employees sign wavers as the management has already suggested they do to keep their jobs they are just as bad as the management. I will never eat there again. Shame on Ruth’s Chris management.
They just wanted to make every dime they could during this major week of eateries in Baltimore.
Thank God no one died. They will just be sick for weeks. Shame on the media for skimming over the real news. The manager just did not want the eveneing spoiled for the patrons but the employees just have to suck it up. I hope she goes to jail.
Comment by bill braton
Humans can’t detect colorless, odorless gas! I am an employee at this restaurant and I think management did an outstanding job! If anything they reacted quickly and helped us throughout the entire incident. By the way the managers were sick too and took care of me instead of themselves. Shame on you for not researching the facts before posting a comment that is so far from what really happened.