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23 Near Va. Tech Hospitalized With Monoxide Symptoms
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But Kurty, who is from Rockville, said she realized quickly that she "was lightheaded and nauseous."
In addition, she said, everyone else in her apartment -- eight people, some of them relatives who were visiting -- "woke up with a headache."
Kurty said she suspected the water heater in her apartment, which she said runs on gas. She said she had turned on the gas Saturday night after arriving at the apartment.
She called the utility company, she said, and an inspector quickly determined that the problem was carbon monoxide in the apartment directly below hers.
Carbon monoxide, which is produced by incomplete combustion, is a colorless and odorless gas that can be fatal in high concentrations.
Kurty said she and her roommate, Rachael Evans, joined others in alerting other residents.
She said that five occupants were pulled from the apartment below hers by rescuers and that all were unconscious or semiconscious.
She said the people from her apartment were taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg, where they received oxygen for four hours before being released.
In all, authorities said, 18 of the 23 people were released Sunday after treatment at hospitals in the Blacksburg area.
Capt. Bruce Bradbery of the Blacksburg police department outlined a chain of circumstances that led to the buildup of monoxide in the women's apartment on the second floor.
He said preliminary investigation indicated that a malfunction in a device called a popoff valve caused hot water to drain from a water heater.
As a result, cold water kept flowing into the heater, causing it to operate nonstop.
At the same time, Bradbery said, a series of circumstances kept the apartment from venting the carbon monoxide that was created.
One of the circumstances, he said, was the closing of all four bedroom doors in the apartment.
Mark Owczarski, a Virginia Tech spokesman, said the university was doing all it could to help.
"We're hoping and praying that all will recover," he said. "We're keeping our fingers crossed."
Weil reported from Washington.
