No CO Detector At OKC School Where CO Leak Caused Sickness

School is canceled for Lee Elementary students on Tuesday after students and teachers were evacuated Monday because of a carbon monoxide leak.

Monday, November 11th 2013, 9:55 pm

By: News 9


School is canceled for Lee Elementary students on Tuesday after students and teachers were evacuated Monday because of a carbon monoxide leak.

The school was evacuated at 2:30 p.m. after several students and staff complained of nausea, dizziness and stinging eyes. One elementary student said he was scared.

"Yeah, I thought it was going to get on my classmates, too," Raul Martinez said.

11/11/2013 Related Story: No School Tuesday At Lee Elementary Following CO Poisoning

Oklahoma City firefighters found carbon monoxide leaking from an HVAC unit in one classroom. The district spokesperson said she had never seen anything like it.

"Never, I've been here for five years, never had to deal with anything like this," said Tierney Tinnin, OCPS spokesperson.

Five students were treated at the scene Monday and EMSA took one of those kids to the hospital. Two other students were taken to the hospital by their parents. Five staff members were also treated and three of those went to the hospital.

Lee Elementary does not have a carbon monoxide detector and it is not required by the state as News 9 first reported back in May.

5/1/2013 Related Story: Carbon Monoxide Detectors Not Required In Oklahoma Schools

News 9 did not find any schools that had CO detectors in halls or classrooms.

The Chief Operations Officer for OCPS, Jim Burkey, said at the time the district would consider carbon monoxide detectors.

Now six months later, a 100-year-old school is evacuated because of a carbon monoxide leak.

"The safety of our students is paramount and when you, even if it's at the end of the day, start seeing students come to the office complaining of burning eyes and also feeling a little nauseous, you're absolutely concerned," Tinnin said.

Crews will replace the faulty HVAC unit Tuesday with a new one. The district will also do more testing on the building to make sure it's safe.

Lee Elementary students and staff will return on Wednesday.

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