Information on Recent CO2 Incidents at McDonald's

Remember the recent CO2 leak (near miss) at a Phoenix, Ariz. McDonald's and the great video Phoenix Fire Department produced on that incident? There was another CO2 call, this time resulting in a civilian fatality in Georgia (last September). One article (linked below) on the Georgia incident states it was the third CO2 incident in a McDonald's in six years (Florida, 2005, two died).

Use the links below:

Georgia incident YouTube Video

Savannah Morning News story

CNN story

Bound Tree University story and video

Phoenix incident YouTube Video

CO2 in Review

1. It is colorless, odorless, 1.5 times as heavy as air. (Click here to view short video on CO2's vapor density.)  

2. It displaces oxygen. Toxicity and its effects increase with the concentration of CO2, here given in volume percent of CO2 in the air:

• One percent can cause drowsiness with prolonged exposure.[7] At two percent it is mildly narcotic and causes increased blood pressure and pulse rate, and causes reduced hearing.[61]
• At about five percent it causes stimulation of the respiratory center, dizziness, confusion, and difficulty in breathing accompanied by headache and shortness of breath.[61]
• Panic attacks may also occur at this concentration.[63][64]
• At about eight percent it causes headache, sweating, dim vision, tremor, and loss of consciousness after exposure for between 5 and 10 minutes.[61]

How many fire departments have meters capable of measuring CO2? The McDonald's incidents have brought this potential issue into the limelight but how many other establishments use CO2 for carbonation in soda or for other uses?

New York State Association of Fire Chiefs