For JP Landolt, it began as a splitting headache early last week.

Landolt, a Howard County Library System employee who works at the Savage Branch location as a children’s instructor and research specialist, told The Banner that the branch’s front desk area smelled like gasoline several times last week.

She took a sick day on Wednesday, then returned to work, only to begin to feel sick again on Thursday. After receiving a call late Thursday night from a supervisor that ”another staff member had tested positive for carbon monoxide poisoning,” Landolt went to the hospital the next day.

She spent several hours in the emergency room before getting the news: A “firm diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning,” she said.

Landolt is one of several Savage Branch employees who reported feeling sick last week, fueling concerns about carbon monoxide exposure. The reports prompted the county’s abrupt closure of the branch on Thursday afternoon “until further notice.”

Some employees voiced concerns about the county’s initial response to what they described as a gas-like smell in the 34-year-old branch. Now, they are seeking answers about what made them sick and what the county plans to do.

County officials said Tuesday they are still investigating the reports, but offered no answers about a possible link between the gas-like smell and the employees becoming exposed and falling ill.

“The Howard County Library System has received reports of Savage Branch employees feeling unwell due to carbon monoxide exposure,” county spokesperson Safa Hira said in a statement late Tuesday. “The county is investigating the building to determine the status of all building systems before reopening to the public.”

Carbon monoxide is a gas that has no odor, taste or color, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can build up to dangerous levels when appliances or engines aren’t well vented. Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when it accumulates in the blood, and it can cause tissue damage or even death. Those exposed to carbon monoxide should get fresh air and seek medical care immediately, the clinic advises.

Howard County maintains and owns all of the county’s library offices and branches.

The mysterious gas-like smell is nothing new for the Savage Branch, according to Landolt, a member of the library employees union.

“I’ve been working with the Savage branch for almost 20 years, and I can attest to the fact that we have been dealing with this mysterious gas smell every fall to wintertime for at least over a decade,” she said.

Last week, Landolt said, she and several colleagues ended up in the emergency room with severe headaches, vomiting, dizziness and confusion.

In a statement to library staff Friday, Tonya Aikens, the library system’s president and CEO, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with all staff who may have been affected, and with our entire team as we move through this together. Please know that we are taking this matter extremely seriously. The safety and well-being of our team members is and always has been our top priority.”

Christie Lassen, a library system spokesperson, referred questions about the branch’s closure and “possible carbon monoxide exposure” to Hira.

But Lassen said all Savage Branch employees are being paid during the library’s closure and that any affected staff can file for workers’ compensation.

Howard County library workers voted overwhelmingly to form a union in February 2024. The union, representing more than 200 county library employees across the system’s six branches, is part of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland Council 3.

The Savage Branch opened in 1991 and underwent a renovation in 2014, according to a library timeline. It reopened in 2015 as the Savage Branch & STEM Education Center.

The county received notification of a “gas-like smell” from the Savage Branch on four days: Nov. 13, 17, 18 and 20, according to Hira.

The library branch closed early on Monday, Nov. 17 and Thursday, Nov. 20; opened late on Tuesday Nov. 18; and was closed all day on Wednesday, Nov. 19 and Friday, Nov. 21.

Caitlin Felder, an instructor and research specialist at the Savage Branch, said that after the branch reopened on Nov. 18, she and others smelled gas on and off until Thursday’s closure.

Felder, a library union member who became the point person for branch employees, said communication with county staff seemed to be lacking initially.

“I felt as if county Facilities was not taking our word for it [on the gas smell] and we weren’t really getting a lot of follow-up from management on whether they wanted to come out and make a judgment call,” Felder said.

After staffers called around 5 p.m. to report that some were feeling sick, the branch closed roughly an hour later.

Lauren Colón is among the library employees seeking answers.

When the library closed early Nov. 18, Colón felt shaky and confused. She was worried about driving home alone and called her husband during the trip.

Colón is an assistant customer supervisor at the Savage Branch, and her desk is located in the customer service workroom, right off the library’s lobby.

After starting her shift at noon Thursday, she felt shaky, had a migraine and her throat was “feeling weird.”

Colón said carbon monoxide sensors were installed on Thursday and a few hours later the sensors went off, flashing red. When the evacuation happened, Colón drove over to the East Columbia Branch to finish her shift, but soon felt ill. She went to the ER and was told she had been exposed to carbon monoxide.

Hira said the county installed 15 carbon monoxide/natural gas detectors at the Savage Branch Thursday morning. The sensors are not required but were installed because of the concerns reported by library staff.

Colón said both the library system and the county need to take accountability for the incidents at the Savage Branch.

“They need to acknowledge the problem and how long they have known about it,” Colón said.

Despite wanting to get back to work, Felder stressed that both library staff and the community deserve to enjoy the library and its resources in a safe building.

“I know every teen by name and so I know that they look forward to coming to our building after school,” Felder said. “Unfortunately, because of all the closings we haven’t been able to be that space for them.”