Nearly five dozen people were taken to hospitals Thursday following a carbon monoxide leak at an Orthodox Jewish boys' camp in New York's Schoharie County, which is about 30 miles west of Albany, local emergency officials say.
A faulty water heater appears to be to blame for the leak on the boys' campus of The Zone, a campground run by Lakewood, New Jersey-based Oorah, a nonprofit organization that helps Jewish kids and their families, officials said.
All but 10 of those treated were camp staff, Wendy Kirwin, a spokesperson for The Zone, which operates the camp, said, while the others were part of the camp's college-age program. Participants in that program range from age 18 to age 23.
More than a dozen rescue squads were part of the multi-agency response to the leak, which was reported shortly after 8 a.m. It was confined to one building and has since been resolved, Schoharie County Office of Emergency Management Michael Hartzel told News 4.
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Kirwin said the building where the leak happened housed some staff members and that emergency services responded quickly. Those affected by the leak are receiving appropriate medical care and monitoring, she added.
"Safety is of course our top priority. The source of the leak was resolved and we are conducting inspections to ensure there is no further risk in this building or elsewhere on our grounds," Kirwin's statement continued. "We are grateful to all the local emergency responders for their assistance and support."
It wasn't immediately clear if there were operational carbon monoxide detectors in the building affected by the leak. No further details were immediately available.
