A carbon monoxide level of 250 parts per million was found Wednesday in the Timberlee Apartments building at 313 S.E. Lime, where juveniles were taken to a hospital, residents were relocated and apartments condemned, said Rosie Nichols, public safety communications specialist for Topeka's city government.
Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas that can cause fatal poisoning.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide levels of 150 to 200 ppm can causedeath.
18 residents were relocated and four apartments were condemned
The Topeka Fire Department responded just before 1 p.m. Wednesday to the building on a report of a chemical odor, Nichols said.
Two juveniles were taken to a hospital, 18 residents were relocated and four apartments were condemned Wednesday after unsanitary conditions and unsafe levels of carbon monoxide found in the building at 313 S.E. Lime, she said.
The juveniles had injuries that weren't considered life-threatening, Nichols said Their names, ages and genders weren't made public.
The carbon monoxide appeared to come from sewer gases and water heaters, some of which weren't working, said Kansas legislator John Alcala.
Inspectors also found feces floating around in water in basem*nts, and black mold that was at least seven or eight inches high on the surrounding walls, he said.
The property maintenance unit was working to determine what specifically caused the high carbon monoxide level, Nichols said.
Legislator, councilwoman were been getting complaints about complex
Alcala, a former Topeka City Councilman, represents the 57th District in the Kansas House of Representatives, which includes 313 S.E. Lime. His wife, Topeka City Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala, represents a district that also includes that location.
Alcala said the two had recently been hearing complaints about a lack of air conditioning at Timberlee Apartments, where he had gone and found temperatures to be as high as 110 degrees.
During a visit to the complex last week, Alcala said he smelled very strong sewer fumes at an apartment where the resident said she had been complaining to management "for months."
Alcala said he and his wife responded by informing city inspectors.
Firefighters on Wednesday detected unsafe levels of carbon monoxide and immediately notified Kansas Gas Service and the Topeka Police Department's property maintenance unit, Nichols said. The juveniles involved were taken to a hospital, she said.
The property maintenance unit found unsanitary conditions that included raw sewage, and condemned four apartments as being unfit for occupancy, Nichols said.
The city's housing services division assisted 18 residents of the building in relocating, she said.
No criminal action had been taken in connection with the situation involved.
Owner of apartment building is company based in New Jersey
Shawnee County appraiser's office records identify the owner of the building at 313 S.E. Lime as being Teaneck, New Jersey-based Timberlee Apartment Owner LLC.
Robert Perez, who started work in June as Topeka's city manager, was among those present Wednesday at the apartment building, where Perez stayed about an hour, Alcala said.
Alcala said he learned Wednesday that federal department of Housing and Urban Development officials had gone three or four years without inspecting the apartments involved, saying they were "behind because of COVID," then conducted an inspection but allowed apartment management to show them "only the units they wanted to show."
Alcala said he had reached out to the office of Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran seeking help to encourage HUD to focus on the situation involved.
Valdivia-Alcala wrote Thursday on Facebook that Timberlee tenants had been afraid to complaint about conditions there out of fear of retaliation and possible eviction.
"Those evicted may end up homeless because we know we have a shortage of affordable housing," she wrote. "So it's all part of a complex web where those that are poor and even those that are middle-class and renting can often end up in the most vulnerable positions."
Messages shared on the Nextdoor online application are telling of an increasing number of situations involving "terrible conditions in apartment complexes," Valdivia-Alcala added.
"My fear is vulnerable folks, especially children, will fall between the cracks," she said.
How common are carbon monoxide poisoning deaths?
Past carbon monoxide fatalities in Shawnee County included the accidental death in 2019 of a 4-year-old girl in a Silver Lake house where a generator was running and the 2011 death of aman who apparently was overcome by fumes as a portable generator was running inside the abandoned Topeka house where he was seeking shelter.
On average, more than 200 people die annually from carbon monoxide produced by non-automotive consumer products, according to the website of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Those products include malfunctioning fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, ranges, water heaters and room heaters; engine-powered equipment such as portable generators; fireplaces; and charcoal that is burned in homes and other enclosed areas, the CPSC said.
It said electrical generators caused the highest number of carbon monoxide deaths in 2020, with 92, while portable heaters caused the second-most, with 33. Others died that year from carbon monoxide produced by non-consumer products, with as cars left running in garages, the CPSC said.
What can I do to protect myself from carbon monoxide?
"Make sure appliances are installed and operated according to the manufacturer's instructions and local building codes," the CPSC said. "Most appliances should be installed by qualified professionals. Have the heating system professionally inspected and serviced annually to ensure proper operation. The inspector should also check chimneys and flues for blockages, corrosion, partial and complete disconnections, and loose connections."
The CPSC encouraged people to acquire and install alarms to warn them about the presence of carbon monoxide in their homes.
But it said the presence of such alarms "is no substitute for proper use and upkeep of appliances that can produce CO (carbon monoxide."
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
