Jamestown (CSi)  The Jamestown City Fire Department was called to the Jonny B’s  Brickhouse restaurant location on First Avenue South on Wednesday at 10:44 a.m., to a carbon dioxide leak stemming from a malfunctioning tank in the basement.

Jamestown Fire Chief Jim Reuther says, the nine firefighters at the scene set up a command post in the alley behind the building, which was blocked to traffic, and four entered the basement to monitor the carbon dioxide level, compared to the oxygen level.

He says carbon dioxide depletes the air of oxygen, and the fire department treated the call as a HazMat incident.

He says an employee in the basement was overcome by the fumes, but was assisted upstairs by the owner, and taken out of the building.  The fire department was then called.  The  employee refused medical treatment.

The firefighters shut off the valve of the tank, from which a line had come off, causing the toxic fumes to escape.

The tank had been refilled earlier in the morning, and the technician came back to fix the tank, after firefighters vented the toxic fumes.

Chief Reuther says the adjacent businesses at the Maple Mall, and an accounting firm were evacuated for about an hour and a half, and then allowed to return, with the occupants giving their full cooperation to the fire department.

The restaurant opened for business as usual on Wednesday.

CO2 is injected to give the “fizz” to carbonated drinks.

Chief Reuther says, there are no lingering ill effects to the building, once the toxic fumes are vented and the oxygen levels return to normal.

With the nine city fire fighters on scene, their were 11 at the northside and southside fire halls, on standby, however they were not needed on scene.

 

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Jamestown (CSi)  The Jamestown City Fire Department was called to the Jonny B’s location on First Avenue South on Wednesday at 10:44 a.m.

A Command Post was set up in the alley behind the building, which was being blocked to traffic.

Businesses, either side of Jonny B’s were also evacuated as air quality was being monitored by firefighters.

First reports indicated a carbon dioxide tank in the basement of Jonny B’s which had been filled earlier in the day was leaking.

The person responsible for the tank’s filling was returning to the scene to assist in shutting it off.

No other information was immediately available.