They were running from Dunkin’ Donuts.
A Long Island medic stopped into a store in Carle Place for a quick cup of coffee early Friday morning — and prevented a possible disaster.
The EMT, whose name was not disclosed, happened to be wearing a personal carbon-monoxide detector, and the device alerted him to a high level of the dangerous gas.
He promptly escorted everybody out and contacted the local fire department, which found the carbon-monoxide level was a very elevated 35 parts per million, Nassau cops said.
The problem, officials found, was the failure of a vent in one of ovens. No one was hurt.
The close call came about three months after Steven Nelson, a manager of the Legal Seafood restaurant in Long Island’s Walt Whitman shopping center, died from exposure to the toxic gas.
Authorities said the tragedy was caused by a leaking pipe in a water heater.
About 20 people were treated at local hospitals.