CO2 On Provincetown Boat Hospitalizes 8

Boaters are being reminded about the dangers of carbon monoxide after eight people were recently hospitalized due to carbon monoxide exposure at a Provincetown marina.

Police responded to MacMillan Wharf in Provincetown, Massachusetts at around 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 26 after receiving a report of an unresponsive person on a boat. When they arrived, police reportedly found the victim and another unresponsive person on the boat.

According to Provincetown Fire Department officials, an EMS crew responding to the scene reported feeling dizzy. As the situation intensified, a crew from the fire department arrived and recorded a “significant” carbon monoxide reading.

Fire officials said the incident quickly escalated, and a total of eight people had to be hospitalized, including several first responders. Additional ambulances from the nearby towns of Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham aided in taking patients to a nearby hospital.

Carbon monoxide is odorless, so a person might not notice it before losing consciousness. Officials said generators on a boat present a significant carbon monoxide hazard given how much carbon monoxide generators produce, especially inside the small, tight surroundings of a boat.

The incident is currently under investigation.