Authorities reported that on Tuesday, a carbon monoxide leak at a Pennsylvania daycare center resulted in an evacuation that brought every ambulance in the city of Allentown to the scene and sent dozens of children and staff members to nearby hospitals.
According to Allentown Fire Chief Efrain Agosto, at least 28 children and seven adults were involved in the incident, which started with a report of an unconscious child at the Happy Smiles Learning Center just before 7 a.m.
“I’m told all are stable and thank God, everyone is going to be fine,” Agosto said. “This could have turned out really bad, lethal.”
The firefighters who arrived for the medical check had gas detectors with them which alerted the crew to the presence of the gas, which is odorless, colorless, and potentially deadly.
Agosto said once the gas was detected, more crew was called in and the building evacuated. “It was definitely a lethal situation,” the fire chief said.
Rescue teams from nearby communities as well as all eight of the city’s ambulances, which are located 60 miles (97 km) north of Philadelphia, responded to the call.
According to Agosto, the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning included dizziness, nausea, and vomiting, which first responders discovered in some children and adults.
Officials did not have an estimate of the number of people present in the building at the time, but ChildcareCenter.us, a tracking website, shows that the facility has a 63-child capacity.
Although the cause of the leak was not determined, the center’s heating system may have been the likely culprit, according to the center’s chief.