Originally Published By WILLISTON HERALD
SIDNEY — An off-duty oilfield worker stopping for dinner on his way home from work saved a restaurant owner a bit of a headache thanks to a bit of happy circumstance.
Technical Service Representative for ChampionX Cody Robinson had finished working for the day, and stopped by a mom and pop restaurant in Sidney to pick up some dinner on his way home one day in October. He still had on the safety gear he wears at well sites, including a gas monitor, which alerts him to noxious fumes coming out of a well.
While he was there waiting, that monitor, which he had clipped to his belt, went off. At first, Robinson thought nothing of it, and simply shut it off, thinking it had been some kind of a fluke.
But when the monitor went off a second time, he realized it was not. There was something in the restaurant causing it to go off. Robinson was able to tell with the monitor that the something was actually carbon monoxide gas.
Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It is also toxic and, depending on the degree and length of exposure, can lead to a range of symptoms starting from mild headaches on up to confusion, shortness of breath, brain damage, and, ultimately, death, if the concentrations are too great.
Cody, realizing the potential safety hazard to the business and its customers, went to talk to the restaurant owners about it. The owners seemed concerned, but there was also a language barrier, so Robinson couldn’t be sure they truly understood the situation. That’s when he decided to call in the Sidney fire Department to help him ensure the restaurant owners and its customers would be safe.
“I wanted to see this through because the owners of this restaurant are very kind people, and I did not want to see anyone get hurt,” Robinson said. “If there is something I can do or say to prevent a tragedy from happening, I will.”
The fire marshal confirmed that there was a leak in the restaurant and was able to locate the source as a cracked heat exchanger on the furnace. Fortunately, there were not many customers in the business at the time, and the problem was able to be quickly rectified.
Robinson said this type of problem is much more common than many realize, and encouraged people in general to get a carbon monoxide detector if they do not have one, and check the furnace operation prior to winter every year.
“Carbon monoxide is a silent killer, and this type of incident happens a lot more than people realize,” he said.
John Breed, manager of external communications for ChampionX, said Robinson’s behavior in the incident is what his company wants to see in its employees.
“We encourage the same behavior on personal time that we do on the job site,” he said. “So it is totally consistent with the culture we try to build, which encourages safety on and off the clock.”
