Hotel that had leak will pay $500 fine
More than a dozen guests of Best Western in Amsterdam sickened by carbon monoxide
By Steven Cook
Gazette Reporter
November 11, 2000
AMSTERDAM - The hotel where more than a dozen people were sickened last
month from a carbon monoxide leak has agreed to pay a $500 fine, state
health officials said Friday.
The Amsterdam Best Western, 10 Market St., agreed this week not to challenge the fine levied last month, said Claire Pospisil, state Department of Health spokeswoman.
Susan Maye, the hotel's manager, could not be reached for comment Friday.
The fine resulted from an incident in which a malfunctioning pool heater spewed deadly carbon monoxide into the hotel a month ago today and sickening more than a dozen people, sending seven guests hundreds of miles away for specialized treatment.
Health Department investigators concluded that the heater had been improperly maintained, causing the carbon monoxide leak, Pospisil said. Hotel officials had the option of challenging the fine at hearings but declined, Pospisil said.
A Kingston mother awoke early Oct. 11 to the sound of train cars rumbling through the city. She discovered that both she and her family were violently sick with what turned out to be carbon monoxide poisoning.
The hotel's approximately 80 guests were evacuated. More than a dozen, including guests, employees and firefighters, received treatment for some level of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Fire officials have said that several people would have died if the Kingston family hadn't been awakened.
Maye said last week that the pool has been reopened, but it is not heated.
The hotel is looking into an electric heater, she said. A carbon monoxide detection system was installed in the days following the incident, she said.
To help prevent such a leak from happening again, Pospisil said letters were sent to area hotels and motels urging heaters be checked and monitored for leaks.
Related stories
Posted November 19, 2000