Wood pellets that were stored too damp have released excessive carbon monoxide levels in three houses in the Bamberg district and triggered a major rescue operation. The houses in the communities of Bischberg, Oberhaid and Viereth-Trunstadt had to be temporarily evacuated on Monday night, as a spokesman for the Bamberg-Land police inspection said. An 18-year-old resident of the house in Bischberg was taken to the hospital as a precaution with dizziness and headaches.
The police and prosecutors are now investigating those responsible for the company that supplied the three houses with the pellets on suspicion of negligent bodily harm. According to initial findings, the pellets were too moist, said the police spokesman. This apparently started a fermentation process. “That’s normal with wood pellets. But the carbon monoxide levels were way too high.”
On Sunday around 6 p.m., a resident of the house from Bischberg first called a heating technician, according to the police, because the wood pellets gave off an unpleasant odor. The craftsman then measured a carbon monoxide concentration that was well above the permissible limit values.
The technician informed the fire brigade, whose measurements confirmed the increased levels of poison in the air. The Bamberg-Land police finally found out that the same company had supplied two other houses in the district with wood pellets.
Police forces and several volunteer fire brigades then evacuated all three affected residential buildings. As the police spokesman said, the firefighters sucked off the dangerous pellets with their devices and ventilated the houses thoroughly. After the carbon monoxide threat dissipated, residents were able to return to their homes. According to the police spokesman, the fire brigade, police and rescue service lasted until the early hours of the morning.