“The carbon monoxide was discovered this morning after a teacher reported a suspicious odor, which was tested and confirmed by the Springfield Twp. Fire Department as carbon monoxide,” the statement said.
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Upon discovery of the high CO levels, students were evacuated from the school and were dismissed around 11:30 a.m. In order to get all of the 900 students out of the building in a hurry, Superintendent Brian Kuhn said school officials pulled the fire alarm.
“We activated the fire alarm system because students know how to get out quickly,” Kuhn said.
Clark-Shawnee Local Schools spokeswoman Megan Anthony said the CO issue was not related to ongoing construction at the school.
“It is confirmed to not be related to construction,” Anthony said. “This is an old boiler system in the northwest corner of the building, which is opposite of where construction is occurring.”
Kuhn said the situation was, “more of a furnace exhaust.”
“We likened it to the exhaust that comes out of the vent at your home where your furnace exhausts into the outdoors,” Kuhn said.
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He said there are no CO detectors in the building right now.
According to the Center for Disease Control’s website, carbon monoxide is found in fumes produced any time you burn fuel in cars, trucks, small engines, stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges or furnaces. Carbon monoxide can build up indoors and quickly poison people.
Every year, more than 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning, more than 20,000 visits the emergency room and more than 4,000 are hospitalized. according to the CDC.
Anthony said classes are to resume on Tuesday as maintenance staff and an HVAC company have found the problem and repaired it.
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