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Carbon monoxide shuts two city restaurants and high rise

About 250 art students were evacuated from a 17-story Center City building and two restaurants on the ground floor were temporarily closed after dangerous levels of carbon monoxide set off alarms before dawn today.

About 250 art students were evacuated from a 17-story Center City building and two restaurants on the ground floor were temporarily closed after dangerous levels of carbon monoxide set off alarms before dawn today.

Investigators had not determined the source of the odorless but deadly gas in the historic building on the southeast corner of Broad and Chestnut Streets by late yesterday afternoon, said Capt. Richard Davison, a Fire Department spokesman.

Jared Rosado and his roommate, Nick Ryan, 19, had slept through the alarm when they were awakened by firefighters who had entered their 17th-floor unit.

"You gotta get out of here!" Rosado recalled the firefighters shouting at them. They were rushed out so quickly they were barely able to get dressed. "We didn't have our phones," Ryan said. "I didn't have my wallet."

Officials closed two restaurants - Capital Grille and the Olive Garden - after finding carbon monoxide readings as high as 3,800 parts per million in one of the eateries, Davison said.

Carbon monoxide levels of about 70 p.p.m. can cause headache, fatigue, and nausea. At sustained concentrations above 150 p.p.m. to 200 p.p.m, disorientation, unconsciousness, and death are possible, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The Olive Garden was given the go-ahead to reopen for dinner late in the afternoon, said a spokesman for the restaurant. The Capital Grille hopes to reopen tomorrow by lunch or - at the latest - dinner.

The apartment building houses 552 students who attend the Art Institute of Philadelphia. They were being relocated to Center City hotels for at least two nights at the school's expense, said Carise Mitch, spokeswoman for the Art Institute.

"We're obviously going to need some pretty strong reassurances that the building is safe for occupancy before we let any of the students back in there," Mitch said.

The series of events began about 4:20 a.m., when a carbon monoxide alarm went off in a fifth floor apartment in the building at 1346 Chestnut St., Davison said.

Arriving units found dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and evacuated residents of the building, Davison said. Three women were taken to area hospitals with possible carbon monoxide symptoms.

The city Department of Licenses and Inspection later issued a cease operation order temporarily closing the building. Property records show the building is owned by TRO Avenue of the Arts L.P.

Late yesterday afternoon, dozens of students waited in line on Chestnut Street for a chance to quickly retrieve some personal items from their apartments.

"They just want you in and out," said Laura Macholl, 19, as she waited in line.

"It's just been a very long day," said her friend, Gabrielle Gonzalez, 22.

Both said they were assigned by the school to the Hilton Garden Inn in Chinatown.

"They said three or four days, but God only knows at this point," Macholl said.