Albany Park apartment where 10-year-old girl died lacked carbon monoxide, fire alarms, inspectors say
The Albany Park apartment where a 10-year-old girl died had a malfunctioning boiler and lacked carbon monoxide alarms and smoke detectors, the Chicago Department of Buildings found.
Chicago firefighters detected high levels of carbon monoxide in the apartment Monday morning.
Jayrinne Sequeida was found unconscious and not breathing about 5:30 a.m. in the 3000 block of West Gunnison Street. A 12-year-old was also taken to the hospital in serious condition.
Jayrinne was pronounced dead in the emergency room of Swedish Covenant Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and Chicago police.
The Buildings Department cited the three-flat apartment building for 11 code violations. The third-floor unit where the girl lived and the basement unit did not have carbon monoxide alarms or smoke detectors, according to the report.
The report also cited the building's "malfunctioning" boiler and said the fire department shut off the boiler and the building's gas supply. The inspection also found the building had exposed and shorted wiring, which it called "dangerous and hazardous." There were also fractures and loose and eroding mortar in the building's chimney.
Homes legally must be equipped with carbon monoxide alarms and smoke detectors. Landlords are responsible for providing and maintaining carbon monoxide and smoke alarms in their rental units.
One of the building's owners, Steven Trevino, declined to comment Tuesday on why the unit lacked the detectors and what was wrong with the boiler. The building's other owners, James Beck and Kathleen Beck, did not immediately return a request for comment.
At the scene, firefighters detected high levels of carbon monoxide at 300 parts per million, Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford told the Sun-Times Monday.
“A carbon monoxide detector will trip as low as 10 ppm, which would give you plenty of time to fix the situation and get out,” he said.
Langford said carbon monoxide poisoning is fatal when the strength of the gas is high and the duration of the exposure is long.
“For instance, a 1,000 ppm reading could be fatal in 30 minutes or less, and down to 300 it will take a couple hours at least,” he said.
At that lower level, carbon monoxide could build up if your house is closed up and your furnace is running continually because of a cold snap, Langford said.