MESA, AZ — A Holiday Inn Express in Mesa failed to obtain proper permits before installing tankless water heaters that later caused a dangerous carbon monoxide leak, endangering dozens of guests and sending several people to the hospital, records show.
The newly uncovered code violation from the city of Mesa shows the hotel conducted work without required permits.
Mesa fire investigators say the newly installed tankless water heaters caused the carbon monoxide leak that hospitalized multiple guests, including Lashley and Tania Hatch.
It happened on October 16, 2023, at the hotel located at 1405 South Westwood in Mesa.
"It's so easy to prevent," Lashley Hatch said in a previous interview with ABC15. "There were things that could have been caught and checked."
Body camera video shows emergency response
Mesa police body camera video captured the dramatic scene as officers found Tania Hatch collapsed outside the hotel, barely alert and vomiting.
"I just remember telling myself, that is out. And that if I can make it to that, that blurry sign that that meant I would get out," Tania Hatch in a prior interview.
Her husband, Lashley Hatch, told officers at the scene he suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.
Minutes later, police and fire crews ordered a full evacuation of the hotel, with officers racing through hallways to wake up guests.
"There is a possible carbon monoxide leak. We are evacuating the building," officers told guests in the body camera footage.
Families file lawsuit
The Hatch family and another couple, Kristin and Wade Denner, are now suing the hotel and the contractor whose company installed the water heaters.
The lawsuit claims the water heaters were "improperly, carelessly and illegally installed venting carbon monoxide inside the property rather than outside.”
"A person that would do that has no business operating a hotel," Wade Denner said.
Attorney Michael Burg, who represents both families, says Mesa Fire photos clearly show the installation failure, with no proper venting system.
[insert photo carbon monoxide still 2 here]
"It's so elementary that anybody who installed it or anybody who looked at it, would have known right away that there's a problem," Burg said.
The city of Mesa said if the hotel had obtained proper permits before installing the water heaters, a building inspector would have reviewed the job and could have prevented the carbon monoxide leak.
"It's bad work. You know, it's bad. It's bad. Everything. Um, so many people's lives were put at risk for something so simple," Lashley said.
The city said the water heaters that caused the leak have since been removed.
In legal filings, the hotel mostly denies any wrongdoing and says the water heaters were installed by an independent contractor. The contractor, but not his company, were sued. In his answer, the contractor denies personal liability for what happened.
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Contractor named in lawsuit not licensed
The state agency that oversees contractors now says Sergio Garza, the person the lawsuit claims installed the water heaters, is not a licensed contractor in Arizona. His business, Sucio Properties LLC, is also not a licensed entity, according to the Arizona Register of Contractors.
Possible warning signs
Records also show there were potential warning signs in the days and weeks before.
According to the Mesa Fire report, emergency crews were called to the hotel the day before for reports of "sick people." The police report says the hotel manager told officers firefighters had been there "several weeks for similar calls for service, with people being transported to the hospital."
"It's so alarming and disgusting to not have somebody take care of it. They had warnings," Tania said.
The lawsuit claims both families are experiencing long-term impacts from the carbon monoxide exposure, and they want accountability for what they call completely preventable failures.
"We have a lot of medical conditions, symptoms that we never had before, that we now have to live with," Lashley said.
"We got a nightmare. And it's something that will never leave us. It will always be in the back of our mind, and it's always going to be a question. Is this related to the carbon monoxide?" Kristin said.
The city previously cited the hotel for not having a carbon monoxide alarm in the room with the unpermitted water heaters.
ABC15 sent multiple emails to attorneys representing all parties involved in the lawsuit, seeking comment.
An attorney for Sergio Garza, the contractor named in the suit, said it is their policy not to discuss lawsuits currently in litigation.
A spokeswoman for IHG Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Holiday Inn Express brand, also declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
Attorneys for the company that owns the hotel did not respond to ABC15’s request for comment.
