Stratford Sobeys reopened after carbon dioxide scare

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Stratford’s Sobeys store was closed for nearly two hours as a precaution Tuesday morning after a leaky hose in a refrigerator’s cooling system let out a small amount of carbon dioxide.

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Stratford Sobeys reopened after carbon dioxide scare Back to video

Stratford’s fire department responded to an alarm that was set off at 9:36 a.m. The Huron Street store’s entrance was taped off as firefighters investigated and an HVAC company fixed the hose before the store reopened around 11:20 a.m.

While CO2 is not a dangerous gas in most circumstances, it can pose severe health risks to those working in enclosed spaces or near tanks or cylinders of the compressed gas. Exposure to higher levels of CO2 can produce a number of negative health effects, including fatigue, difficulty breathing, nausea, asphyxiation, and in some rare cases, even fatalities.

In June 2018, for example, Todd Keeling, 48, of White Bear Lake, Minn., died from a lethal carbon dioxide leak while installing a beer tap in a walk-in cooler at the Atlanta Braves stadium, the Associated Press reported. Keeling was trapped in the cooler because of a faulty door mechanism, so was unable to escape as the colourless and odourless gas filled the space.

The situation at Sobeys also ended much better than it did for two other businesses in the city’s northwest in recent years. No Frills was closed for weeks in 2022 after a refrigeration unit caught fire in March and caused more than $1 million in damages, and the Huron Street Shoppers Drug Mart – other than its pharmacy – is still closed after a freezer caught fire Jan. 28.

cosmith@postmedia.com