Fire and rescue personnel were called to Cypress Bay High School in Weston on Friday morning following complaints of a carbon monoxide leak that, according to authorities, left five individuals hospitalized.
Just north of Griffin Road, at 18600 Vista Park Boulevard, is where the school is situated.
Five persons, including four employees of the school and one fireman from BSFR, were taken to Cleveland Clinic Florida Express Care in Weston after the incident, according to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane.
With symptoms he described as “very minor and consistent with carbon monoxide exposure, such as weakness, dizziness, and headaches,” Kane verified that the sufferers are likely to recover.
In addition, Kane reminded everyone that carbon monoxide has no taste or smell, making it hard to detect until symptoms appear, which is precisely what he claimed occurred in the school cafeteria.
Cypress Bay High School principal Dr. Kassandra Fried announced that due to a gas leak, all staff and students were released at noon and the school was evacuated.
Howard Hepburn, the superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, also discussed the circumstances that resulted in the evacuation of the school.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to evacuate all staff and students — started calling our transportation department to get buses to the school, letting our parents know we’re going to be dismissing at 12 p.m.,” he stated.
According to authorities, a number of people in the school cafeteria began feeling ill in the middle of the morning. It was discovered by firefighters that the cafeteria was experiencing a carbon monoxide leak. According to the authorities, no pupils were present in the cafeteria when the incident occurred.
Kane stated that once the school’s gas system was turned off, Hazmat evacuated the structure and subsequently verified that the building’s carbon monoxide levels were stabilized.
After learning of the leak, a parent expressed their fears, saying, “I wanted to get my son out of school because my brother told me there was some carbon monoxide leak.”
Some parents said that Broward County’s banned cellphone regulation prevented them from getting in touch with their kids.
A woman stated, “I’m calling him, and he won’t answer. I’m a little concerned about what’s going on and then I see the helicopter and ambulance.”
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When a Cypress Bay High School student learned about the circumstances, he also related the scene.
“We were going into school, and the police didn’t let us in,” he stated. “We saw ambulances and asked our friends inside, and they told us there was a gas leak.”
Gas lines have been turned off as a precaution, according to school officials, while they look into the leak’s origin.
