GIRARD, Ill. (AP) — More than 140 Illinois middle school students and adults were sent to hospitals Monday after becoming ill because of a carbon monoxide leak caused by a faulty furnace flue, school district and fire officials said.
Several students at North Mac Intermediate School in Girard complained about feeling nauseated, but all were conscious and talking as they were taken away in ambulances, Superintendent Marica Cullen said.
The source of the leak was a flue that came loose on a gas-powered boiler, and repairs have been made, school board member Terri Worth said. Officials said the gas was shut off.
Girard is a central Illinois city about 25 miles south of Springfield.
At least three students were admitted to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, but most were discharged or under evaluation, a hospital spokeswoman told the State Journal Register in Springfield. Students also were taken to two other hospitals.
Students not taken to hospitals were taken to nearby churches, where they were being monitored, authorities said.
The number of people taken to the hospital rose throughout the day, said school officials, who warned parents to be on the lookout for signs of poisoning.
Cullen said carbon monoxide had been cleared from the building by late afternoon, but officials canceled class for all district schools on Tuesday. Carbon monoxide detectors will be installed in all district buildings, Cullen told the newspaper.
“We don’t want any students in the building until we’ve had multiple inspections and we know it is safe,” she said.
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