LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A state investigation is underway into a carbon monoxide scare in a southern Indiana town on Christmas Eve. 

Firefighters in Clarksville have responded to more than 100 reports of gas or carbon monoxide leaks over the past three days, but there's no official cause.

Firefighters initially responded to a call of two Clarksville residents experiencing chest pains around 3 a.m. on Christmas Eve. The fire department started getting so many calls that an emergency command center was set up, and an emergency shelter was set up at Clarksville Middle School. 

More reports came in the early hours of Saturday, when dozens of residents of both Clarksville and part of New Albany reported that carbon monoxide alarms started sounding about 6 a.m.  

"I don't know the actual cause. I will say that the homes we responded to and the businesses that we responded to, it wasn't widespread throughout the town," said Clarksville Fire Chief Brandon Skaggs during a news conference on Tuesday. "We did have a member of the gas utility in the command center, but we still didn't get any clear answers on what was going on." 

New Albany resident Roger Baylor, who spoke with WDRB News Saturday, believes with the number of people impacted in the same way, around the same time, the common theme seems to be the gas lines coming into the house.

"You say to yourself, well, of course, appliances and furnaces are going to break when it's extremely cold for sure," Baylor said. "But that many? And wouldn't they break different ways?" 

He wants more answers from natural gas provider CenterPoint Energy.

"They have to be transparent so we as consumers will know what happened and if it won't happen again," Baylor said. 

A statement released by CenterPoint Energy to WDRB News said there are no indications the issue was with its natural gas system, which it said "continues to operate safely." 

Clarksville Town Manager Kevin Baity said state Rep. Rita Fleming and Rep. Ed Clere have been in contact with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, which will be conducting an investigation.

The Commission's Pipeline Safety Division said late Tuesday that it will be inspecting records of CenterPoint Energy to make sure the company was in compliance with federal and state safety laws. 

In a statement, the Commission said CenterPoint customers experiencing issues may contact its Consumer Affairs Division by going online at https://iurc.portal.in.gov or by calling 1-800-851-4268, after first attempting to resolve the issue directly with the utility.

CenterPoint Energy offered one possible explanation in its statement: "We always take emergency calls very seriously and have responded to, and investigated, the potential causes of carbon monoxide. We found the majority of calls CenterPoint Energy responded to were due to improper appliance venting."

The company also responded to questions about its use of a propane air mix to supplement natural gas during high system demand. 

"The propane-air peak shaving plant which serves a portion of the area has been in service since the 1970s and is regularly monitored and maintained to industry standards. It has been used during past extreme weather events, including last year during a similar cold weather event, to help safely and reliably deliver natural gas service to customers in the Clarksville and New Albany areas," CenterPoint's statement continued.

"I don't have a cause, or proof, or anything like that. I think that would be premature of me to say that about a utility company at this point," Skaggs said. "We are trying to figure out and determine, because at this point, we want to recover, but be proactive for our residents."

Much of Clarksville's response centered along Eastern Boulevard, Harrison Avenue, Kenwood Avenue and Fair Banks. Skaggs said there were some calls in the Green Acres neighborhood near the elementary schools. 

By noon Saturday, the emergency was canceled, but four people were taken to the hospital. Three of those were from one home. Clark Memorial Hospital, and hospitals in Louisville, reported having walk-ins complaining of carbon monoxide exposure. 

"CO for us, you know, has been labeled as a silent killer. There've been those horror stories that entire families don't wake up. That was my fear as a fire chief," said Skaggs. "That's in my neighborhood. I know these people. I was very passionate about it. It was a big fear." 

Skaggs said the fire department is still responding to some calls related to the carbon monoxide scare. He said some Clarksville residents just need reassurance about CO2 levels in their homes. 

"Right now, it's recovering and letting our customers, our residents, know that hey, we'll come out and check. We want to make sure you feel safe in your home here in Clarksville," he said. 

Some symptoms caused by exposure to carbon monoxide include chest pains, headaches, fatigue, light-headaches, dizziness, nausea and unconsciousness.

Skaggs said some good news is that local hardware stores told the fire department that they have sold a lot of CO detectors in the past few days. In fact, he said that Lowe's and Home Depot have sold out. 

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