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Patients evacuated from NH hospital due to possible chemical leak

Five staff members in an operating room started feeling ill; several other patients in the ER began to feel ill a short time later

By EMS1 Staff

EXETER, N.H. — A New Hampshire hospital was evacuated due to a possible chemical leak.

WTKR.com reported that crews responded to Exeter Hospital for an odor investigation in the emergency room. Several ambulances were sent to the hospital after 20 people were affected by what fire officials said was a “carbon monoxide problem.”

Five staff members in an operating room started feeling ill and several other patients in the ER began to feel sick a short time later, CBS Boston reported.

“What we know is patients were being treated in the [operating room] with flu-like symptoms when those treating them also started feeling ill,” Town Manager Russell Dean said. “The OR was shut down and people were moved to the ER for treatment. The same thing happened there, so the ER was shut down and a staging area has been set up outside the main hospital.”

Dean said officials are investigating the incident as a “possible leak of some kind.”

We will update you once more information becomes available.

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