5 sickened by carbon monoxide on Main Line

At least five people have been hospitalized following a carbon monoxide leak in the boiler room of a Main Line apartment complex.

There is not word yet in their conditions.

Officials said the victims - including two children, according to one resident - were taken to Lankenau Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

One victim was the building's superintendent, said the resident, Stephanie Bell.

Tenants of the Marks and Co. Apartment complex at the intersection of Conshohocken State and Llanberris Roads also were evacuated after the carbon monoxide leak.

Lower Merion Fire Chief Charles McGarvey said the leak, which was reported about 8:40 a.m., was a result of fluid back up in the heater.

Among those evacuated were Amy Waxman, 25, her boyfriend and their 9-month-old daughter, Sienna.

She said they were barely awake when firefighters and police arrived.

"We had just enough time to throw clothes on before they took us out," Waxman said.

Bell, 38, was about to lay down and fall asleep after a night shift on the SEPTA Regional Rail when firefighters banged on door to get her out of her second floor apartment.

"When I came out I saw my neighbor and her two kids," Bell said. "The kids passed out a couple of times, and their mom collapsed on the sidewalk."

Bell, who recently moved into the complex, didn't know the name of the family.

Shortly after 10 a.m., McGarvey said residents were free to return to their homes. He said the heater was turned off, and a heating maintenance worker had started repairs.