Five taken to Minneapolis following carbon monoxide poisoning all released

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The five people airlifted to a Minneapolis medical center Friday were all discharged as of Monday, officials said.

Five retreat participants were transported to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis following exposure to carbon monoxide early Friday morning.

Twenty-nine middle- and high-school students and three chaperones from across the state participated in a youth retreat held Friday at First Congregational United Church of Christ in James-town. The retreat was scheduled to last until Saturday.

Firefighters reported carbon monoxide readings of 379 parts per million inside the church. Readings of more than 50 ppm are considered a hazard. Three hours in an environment with 400 ppm is considered a life-threatening exposure, said Jim Reuther, chief of the Jamestown Fire Department.

One of the five airlifted to Minneapolis was 11-year-old Kylie Lester of Jamestown. Her mother, the Rev. Susan Lester, is the pastor at FCUCC and also attended the retreat.

Lester said Kylie was discharged from the medical center over the weekend. Kylie and her sister, 15-year-old Ainsley Lester, returned to school Monday although Ainsley returned home because she still wasn’t feeling well, Lester said.

“We’re doing just fine,” she said.

Lester said she was taking a short sabbatical so she could recover as well.

Bill Kennedy, spokesman for Jamestown Hospital, said carbon monoxide has no aftereffects. Once a person’s oxygen is restored to normal levels, if he or she feels ill, it may be due to another cause, he said.

In addition to the five people taken by air ambulance to Minneapolis, three retreat participants were kept at Jamestown Hospital for overnight observation, Kennedy said.

Those patients have been discharged, he said.

“As far as I know, everybody’s home,” Lester said.

Nine of the retreat participants are members of Bismarck United Church of Christ in Bismarck, said Jim Moos, senior pastor.

Moos said parents and church officials were thankful for the care the children received in Jamestown.

At church services, Moos preached to the congregation the importance of gaining wisdom from events like Friday.

“What is the learning we can do to go forward from here?” he said.

Both churches, First Congregational United Church of Christ in Jamestown and Bismarck United Church of Christ in Bismarck, said they expect to install carbon monoxide detectors in their worship and church spaces.

FCUCC is currently free of carbon monoxide, Lester said, and plans to hold its regular services Sunday.

Sun reporter Katie Ryan can be reached at 701-952-8454 or by e-mail at kryan@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, carbon monoxide, life, news, health, airlift, retreat