While initial reports stated the arrival of warmer weather was responsible for the spike in carbon monoxide-related incidents, none of which have proved fatal, it emerged Wednesday that it is not fully clear what the full cause has been.

Gas leak issues in apartment buildings, many of which use individual gas boilers in the bathroom or kitchen have in any case been found and ventilation and exhaust systems in apartment buildings have been found to not be functioning effectively, which can lead to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide accumulating indoors when gas appliances are used again.

These can create carbon monoxide danger; on Tuesday, rescue teams in Narva and other Ida-Viru County towns had been called out in relation to the hazard.

A total of 19 incidents were recorded in Narva alone, as residents reported the odor of natural gas, feeling unwell, or carbon monoxide detectors sounding off, in all cases relating to the use of gas appliances. One person required hospitalization.

One person hospitalized with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Rescue Board (Päästeamet) operational chief Marek Martinson said there had been 19 callouts related to gas incidents overall on Tuesday, and in one case a person was taken to hospital. Elsewhere in Ida-Virumaa there were a handful of incidents — two in Kohtla-Järve and one in Sillamäe.

The peak times came around noon and then again in the early evening, Martinson said.

"In Narva there was a sudden increase in incidents late in the morning, around 11 a.m. to noon, and the number of callouts became especially intense after the workday ended, when we were receiving almost one new incident every ten minutes," he went on.

Rescue workers responded to all callouts, and in the evening an additional fire engine was brought from Jõhvi to Narva to support the two primary vehicles already on site. Residents of Narva also got an alarm from the EE-Alarm emergency notification system on Tuesday evening, warning them about the gas danger.

Despite the dangers and difficulties contacting responsible persons, Martinson said the night passed more calmly.

"Unfortunately, not all apartment association chairpersons or gas companies servicing the associations could be reached, which meant that not all gas valves could be shut off. Fortunately, however, there were no gas-related incidents during the night and no one was injured," Martinson added.

Rescue workers detected gas leaks primarily in apartment bathrooms and dealt with this by shutting off gas valves, opening windows to provide ventilation, and forbidding the use of boilers for the meantime. In some cases, the issue involved central gas leaks in stairwells.

In those apartment buildings where the gas valves have been shut off, the Rescue Board says these should be reopened only around 6 p.m., after most residents have returned home from work and can personally check that there are no gas leaks in their apartments.

Not doing this runs the risk of explosion, he added. Any apartments with gas heating that do not yet have carbon monoxide detectors should obtain them immediately; in addition to these being a legal requirement, once a person begins feeling unwell, it may already be too late, if the cause is carbon monoxide poisoning.

"Carbon monoxide detectors must be installed in all apartments with gas heating and also in those with stove heating. It is high time to get one," Martinson said.

Operational chief: I don't remember anything like this before

It is still not entirely clear why the massive increase in gas-related incidents hit Narva Tuesday. Martinson noted that temperature and air pressure conditions, initially announced as the cause, were quite similar in neighboring towns, yet nowhere else experienced incidents on such a scale. Fall and not spring is a commoner time for callouts relating to gas appliances, he added.

"We have noticed that when the heating season gets underway in autumn and people start consuming plenty of hot water, gas boilers come under greater strain, and there have been periods when there were more gas-related call-outs in Kohtla-Järve, Jõhvi, Sillamäe, and Narva. But something like this — such an intense wave of incidents in such a short time, and especially between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., with one incident following another — I do not remember in my own career," Martinson noted.

The Rescue Board is continuing to urge residents not to use gas appliances until an official notice is issued, and from 8 a.m. today, Wednesday, Rescue Board crews, in cooperation with the Narva city government, apartment association representatives, and gas service providers, have been inspecting those apartments where carbon monoxide leaks were detected.

The inspections assess the condition of ventilation systems and the safety of gas appliances. Where necessary, the gas supply will remain disconnected until the identified issues are resolved.

Wednesday morning less busy for rescuers

As of 10 a.m. on Wednesday, rescuers had received no gas-related call-outs either in Narva or elsewhere in Ida-Virumaa.

The Rescue Board will also send out a fresh EE-Alarm notification on Wednedday informing residents when the danger has passed. Until that official notification is received, residents should continue refraining from using gas appliances.

In addition to inspecting gas heating systems, apartment associations should also ensure that all chimneys are cleaned, which should be carried out once a year. Uncleaned ventilation ducts are also dangerous, as if they get blocked, no additional airflow enters the system, causing incomplete combustion in both water boilers and gas stoves, which in turn allows carbon monoxide to enter apartments.

The Rescue Board also contacted the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) to investigate the causes of the incidents and forwarded the information to them, though Martinson said it was difficult to determine which authority was responsible for investigating the matter.

"We will certainly be discussing these issues both within the rescue center and in Narva city, but apartment associations should definitely have gas heating systems inspected and chimneys and ventilation ducts cleaned. That will certainly improve the situation," Martinson added.

While natural gas (usually methane or propane) has an odor added to it for safety purposes, carbon monoxide is odorless. This makes it extremely dangerous, and carbon monoxide poisoning can prove fatal. It can only be detected by a properly installed carbon monoxide detector – mandatory in dwellings which use gas appliances.

Editor's note: This piece was updated to include comment from Marek Martinson and updated figures on Tuesday and Wednesday's callouts.

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