MESA, AZ — Two families are suing a Holiday Inn Express after a carbon monoxide leak sent them to the hospital, and fire records show there were potential warning signs.
It happened on October 16, 2023, at the hotel located at 1405 South Westwood in Mesa.
“We were so close to dying,” said Lashley Hatch, who was treated for carbon monoxide poisoning along with his wife, Tania.
Mesa fire records show the cause of the carbon monoxide leak was newly installed tankless water heaters at the hotel.
“It makes me mad that they could have taken our lives because of that,” said Tania Hatch.
Couple describes what happened
Weakened by the gas, Tania said she managed to escape from the second floor. Her husband was still inside, but she was able to get into an elevator.
“I couldn’t stand. I just reached up and pushed something in hopes that I could, like, get out,” she said.
The Mesa police report said an officer found Tania, “…laying on the east side of the building. She was conscious but barely alert.”
“I woke up in my bed at one point and was throwing up. And then I remember waking up again on the bathroom floor,” Tania said.
Tania is credited with saving lives because she found someone who called 911.
“I’m grateful that I was able to get out,” she said. “And by luck, chance that there was somebody outside at four in the morning.”
“I'm convinced I would have just slept through and died if she had not woken up and been throwing up,” Lashley said.
Mesa Fire reports critical findings
A Mesa Fire Investigation Report details what happened that morning.
In addition to finding the cause of the carbon monoxide leak was the new tankless water heaters, according to the report, the hotel manager told investigators, “…they recently replaced the boiler system with tankless water heaters to cut down on gas consumption.”
Lawsuit calls into question water heaters installation
The question now is how the new tankless water heaters were installed, and it’s at the center of the recently filed lawsuit.
“So many people’s lives were put at risk for something so simple,” Lashley said.
Both the hotel and the contractor who installed the water heaters are named in the lawsuit.
“It’s a real sad case because something like this could be easily prevented and should be,” said the family’s attorney, Michael Burg.
The lawsuit alleges the water heaters were improperly installed and were “venting carbon monoxide to the inside of the property rather than to the outside.”
“It’s hard for me to believe that they would do it this way,” said Burg.
The Mesa Fire report doesn’t directly blame installation, but Burg said photos taken by Mesa Fire and included in its report clearly illustrate the failure.
“We have hired experts. When you look at this, you can see there’s absolutely no venting,” Burg said.
The Mesa Fire Investigator who wrote the report also confirmed to ABC15 that the water heaters were not properly vented.
Family from North Carolina ended up in the hospital
Kristin Denner and her 18-month-old daughter, Evelyn, were also hospitalized because of the carbon monoxide, according to fire and medical records.
“I remember thinking, the tile floor is cold, and it feels good. I just want to go to sleep,” said Kristin.
Her husband and Evelyn’s father, Wade Denner, was also treated.
“And at five in the morning, there was pounding on our door, and it was the Mesa Fire Department evacuating the hotel,” Wade said.
Potential warning signs
According to the Mesa Fire report, emergency crews were called to the hotel the day before for reports of “sick people.”
Questions also linger about potential warning signs in the weeks prior.
The police report revealed the hotel manager told officers fire crews were there, “several weeks for similar calls for service, with people being transported to the hospital.”
“They clearly did not care about the safety of their guests,” said Wade.
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In its response to the lawsuit, the hotel denied any wrongdoing and said the water heaters were installed by an independent contractor.
Both families said they never heard a carbon monoxide alarm. ABC15 reviewed the police and fire reports and found nothing describing warnings from a carbon monoxide detector.
ABC15 is trying to confirm whether a carbon monoxide detector was required inside the hotel rooms.
Intercontinental Hotels Group owns the Holiday Inn Express Brand. A company spokesperson said the hotel in Mesa is independently owned and operated.
ABC15 reached out to the hotel but has not yet heard back.
