Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Jayne Marshall, a Virginia Tech student from Salem, gets in her car to go to class this morning. Marshall was awakened by a neighbor at 3:30am after a carbon monoxide leak was discovered in her apartment building at Terpence Apartments in Blacksburg.

BLACKSBURG -- A carbon monoxide leak at a Blacksburg apartment complex early this morning caused residents to be evacuated.

The incident occurred just after 3 a.m. in Terpence Apartments at 617 Lee St. A faulty water heater in one of the units caused the leak, but no one was hurt, Blacksburg Fire Chief Keith Bolte said. That water heater is being replaced today, Bolte said.

Terpence residents said they were ordered by authorities to leave their apartments after a carbon monoxide detector in a lower-floor apartment of the eight-unit building sounded its alarm. They said they were kept outside until about 5 a.m.

The apartments, owned by developer Jeanne Stosser, have natural gas heaters and dryers. Stosser owns about 1,100 rental units from Blacksburg to Radford and runs several real estate and development ventures. Following the suit of other local landlords, Stosser said she had this week ordered her employees to install carbon monoxide detectors in all units that use natural gas.

“This whole thing is just bizarre,” Stosser said. “You rarely hear of these leaks. Normally someone smells [natural] gas and the leak is fixed.”

Terpence Apartments resident Catherine Newman said she was glad Stosser's company had installed detectors. "If not, who knows what could have happened," Newman said.

The scare came less than two weeks after an Aug. 19 carbon monoxide leak at another Blacksburg apartment complex that sent 25 people to hospitals. The culprit in that incident was a malfunctioning water heater valve, but the two incidents appear not to be related, Bolte said. Collegiate Suites owners announced Monday that all the building’s gas-fired heating systems would be converted to electric models.

Awareness about the danger of carbon monoxide leaks is up amongst town residents, landlords and Atmos Energy, the town's natural gas provider, which will likely result in more frequent gas leak calls, Bolte said. The fire department has applied for a grant to provide carbon monoxide detectors to residents who can't afford them.

Meanwhile the General Assembly and Blacksburg Town Council are considering legislation requiring installation of detectors in rental properties at risk for carbon monoxide leaks. These leaks occur when natural gas-fired appliances fail to burn properly. Carbon monoxide is highly toxic, odorless and colorless. Only special electronic monitors can detect its presence.