Urgent Sewer gas in attic apartment

[lunasalix]

I woke up this morning to the smell of sewage in my attic apartment by the vent. I assumed that my landlord downstairs had simply overflown his toilet earlier in the morning, cleaned it, and left a lingering smell that worked its way up through the vents into my apartment, since even the smell of things he heats in the microwave find their way into my apartment nightly. I didn't worry about it and left for the day. I got home late this evening to find that the smell had greatly intensified and covered my entire apartment except for the bathroom, where there are no vents.
I read that this smell isn't just nauseating, it's deadly. I've since moved my birds into the bathroom with the air purifier on high. I'm opening the apartment windows, closing the vents, and turning on a space heater for the night, too. What more can I do to ensure the birds' safety? Should they go to the vet to get check-ups?

 

[greys4u]

I would take them to the vets just to be on the safe side or you might call the vet and ask them and if the birds should come in for a check

 

[rocky'smom]

call you vet asap

 

[lunasalix]

The landlord just came upstairs and checked every pipe in my apartment and found nothing, so it must be coming from elsewhere in the building. He's assured me that the problem will be fixed within 2 days. The birds are acting normal for now. I'm going to call the vet in the morning, though the earliest I could get them in is next Monday unless I pay my friends to take them...

 

[JLcribber]

I would say the "vent" pipe for the sewer that goes out above the roof is blocked somewhere. The usual culprits are things like birds building nests in the pipe and things like that. The pipe should have a cap/roof on it to stop stuff from falling into it. If the cap is gone makes it even easier to get in.

 

[MommyBird]

I was thinking the same as John said. Would definitely check that.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

How awful! I hope your birdies are okay and the problem is fixed quickly.

 

[rockybird]

I am so sorry! Can you board them until it's fixed?

 

[lunasalix]

Sorry, I've been pretty swamped since posting this. The issue was fixed last night and I was able to clear the smell from the apartment by morning. I suggested the vent as soon as I noticed the problem, but my landlord (who is a plumber) wanted to check everything else first, for whatever reason. It was the vent.
On the vet's advice, I've been keeping a close eye on my boys for signs of respiratory distress. So far, they seem to be acting perfectly normal, and definitely happy to be back in the main room instead of the bathroom. I think I was able to catch it in time and get them out before the fumes reached dangerous levels.