10 students taken to hospital after chemical odor detected at Sacramento elementary school

WE BEGIN WITH BREAKING NEWS NOW. BREAKING NEWS IN SACRAMENTO. TEN STUDENTS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER A SMELL IN THEIR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM. STUDENTS AND STAFF DESCRIBE THAT SMELL AS CHEMICALLY. RIGHT NOW, HAZMAT CREWS ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT CHEMICAL SMELL IS. THAT’S HOW THEY’RE DESCRIBING IT AS ALL HAPPENED AT PHILLIPS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ON 21ST AVENUE. AND KCRA 3’S MICHELLE BANDUR JUST ARRIVED LIVE ON THE SCENE WITH THE LATEST FROM THE SCHOOL. MICHELLE. WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, LISA. SO CAN YOU IMAGINE GETTING THAT PHONE CALL AS A PARENT? TEN STUDENTS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER THAT INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED HERE THIS MORNING ABOUT 930. I WANT TO TELL YOU, THEY ARE OKAY. THEY ARE BEING TREATED AT THE HOSPITAL AND ALL OF THEM ARE GOING TO BE OKAY, IS WHAT WE WERE TOLD. BUT LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL. THE PARENTS OF EVERY STUDENT IN THIS SCHOOL WAS CALLED TODAY, SO THEY WERE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME HERE AND PICK UP THEIR CHILD IF THEY WANTED TO. AND SO WE’VE BEEN SEEING PARENTS ARRIVING HERE, PICKING UP THEIR KINDERGARTENERS, FIRST GRADERS. YOU KNOW, EVERY AGE GROUP HERE, PARENTS JUST WENT AHEAD AND DECIDED TO PICK UP THEIR KIDS HERE. IT WAS A FOURTH GRADE CLASSROOM IN AN ISOLATED PORTABLE WHERE THIS SMELL THAT THEY FOUND THAT WAS MAKING THEM SICK ABOUT 930 THIS MORNING. I WANT TO BRING IN PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER KEITH WADE, WHO IS WITH SACRAMENTO FIRE. AND SO, YEAH, THAT THE MAIN THING IS THESE KIDS ARE GOING TO BE OKAY. BUT WHAT WERE THE SYMPTOMS AND WHAT KIND OF WHAT ALERTED THEM TO, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY WERE BEING THEY WERE SICK. THERE WAS A STUDENT IN BACK OF THE CLASSROOM WHO HAD COMPLAINED OF NAUSEA, NOT FEELING WELL, UPSET STOMACH. SEVERAL OTHER STUDENTS STARTED HAVING THE SAME COMPLAINT. THE TEACHER INVESTIGATING THE TEACHER STARTED FEELING THOSE TYPES OF SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS AS WELL. TEACHER DID THE RIGHT THING. REMOVE ALL THE STUDENTS OR 25 AND TOTAL OUT OF THAT PORTABLE WENT TO A DIFFERENT AREA. ISOLATED IN PLACE THERE AND DENIED ENTRY FOR ANY OTHER PEOPLE TO GO THERE UNTIL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CAN GET ON SCENE AND START OUR PROCESS. YEAH. AND SO WHAT IS THAT PROCESS? I MEAN, THIS IS A MYSTERY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT CAUSED THIS CHEMICAL SMELL? SO THE FIRST THING IS WE WANT TO TAKE CARE OF ANYONE WITH ANY COMPLAINTS, RIGHT? SO WE AT 11 TOTAL STUDENTS HAD COMPLAINTS, TEN OF THEM WERE TRANSPORTED. ONE STUDENT HAD THEIR PARENTS COME AND COLLECT THEM FOR FURTHER CARE. AND THEN THE TEACHER ENDED UP GETTING TRANSPORTED. THE REST OF THE STUDENTS STAYED HERE. ALL AS YOU MENTIONED, ALL THE PARENTS WERE NOTIFIED. BUT WE NEED A HAZMAT TEAM ON SCENE, WHICH THEY’RE HERE AND THEY’RE WORKING, GOING THROUGH THEIR PROCESSES TO TRY TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS AN ODOR OR LEAK, WHAT THAT WHAT THE SOURCES. YEAH, BUT YOU STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE. ANY IDEAS? WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS TO MAKE THEM SICK? SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS ARE USUALLY WITHIN A PORTABLE CLASSROOM. AN HVAC SYSTEM WOULD BE ONE THING YOU WANT TO CHECK ANY OTHER THINGS THAT THEY HAVE IN THERE THAT MIGHT BE EMITTING ANY SORT OF AN ODOR. THEY’RE GOING TO DETERMINE THAT THEY HAVE THE TOOLS IN THE TRAINING TO TRY TO REALLY ISOLATE IT DOWN AND SEE WHAT THIS MIGHT BE. WE’RE JUST THANKFUL THAT NO ONE’S SEVERELY INJURED. YEAH. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CHILDREN OF THIS AGE SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT WHEN YOU HAVE THAT TYPE OF CHEMICAL SMELL OR, YOU KNOW, THAT’S MAKING THEM SICK? ANY OTHER SPECIAL TESTS THAT NEED TO BE DONE? WELL, MANY TIMES KIDS HAVE ANY SORT OF COMPLAINTS. YOU KNOW, THEY DON’T COMPENSATE THE SAME AS ADULTS DO. SO WE SHOULDN’T BE WORRIED WHEN THEY START HAVING SCIENTISTS SYMPTOMS THAT’S SOMETHING MAYBE BIG, YOU KNOW, REALLY BAD. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE GET THEM TO A HOSPITAL, BE EVALUATED AND MONITORED SO THAT THEY’RE OKAY. THAT TEACHER LOOKED AT AND THEN THE REST OF THE STAFF AND STUDENTS HERE ARE SAFE AND THE PARENTS ARE NOTIFIED. SO EVERYTHING HAS GONE IN THE PROCESS IT NEEDS TO FOLLOW. BUT RIGHT NOW, WE NEED TO DETERMINE WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT CLASSROOM AND MAKE IT SAFE. AND IT WAS, YOU SAID, ISOLATED TO THAT ONE PORTABLE. SO THE SCHOOL DIDN’T NEED TO BE EVACUATED. THE SCHOOL WAS NOT EVACUATED. BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, PARENTS ARE NOTIFIED AND A LOT OF THEM ARE CHOOSING TO COME HERE AND COLLECT THEIR CHILDREN, WHICH I DON’T BLAME THEM. YOU KNOW, IT CAN BE SCARY, BUT THE NATIONAL NARRATIVE THAT’S HAPPENING AROUND, YOU KNOW, ANY SORT OF ACTIVITY AT A SCHOOL, THE PARENTS ARE A LITTLE UNNERVED. AND SO WE WELCOME PEOPLE TO COME AND BE WITH THEIR LOVED ONES AND MAKE SURE EVERYONE SAFE. BUT RIGHT NOW, I CAN TELL YOU THAT ALL THE STUDENTS AND THAT TEACHER ARE MORE STABLE WHEN THEY TRANSPORTED IT AND THEY’RE BEING MONITORED CURRENTLY. AND THEN REAL QUICK, HOW LONG ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO BE OUT HERE DOING IN THESE TESTS? YEAH, SO IT CAN TAKE UP TO AN HOUR SOMETIMES, MAYBE A COUPLE HOURS FOR THEM TO TRY TO ISOLATE AND DETERMINE WHAT’S GOING ON. COUNTY HEALTH IS INVOLVED AS WELL TO RESPOND OUT HERE BECAUSE ONCE IT’S DETERMINED WHAT THE SOURCE MIGHT BE, IF THERE IS ONE THAT HOUSES THE BUILDING, THEN MADE SAFE AND THEN SIGNED OFF ESSENTIALLY SO THAT CAN BE MADE, YOU KNOW, RE-ENTRY FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF. AGAIN, IT WILL BE FOR ALL OF THAT INFORMATION. AND IT SOUNDS LIKE EVERYONE ACTED QUICKLY IN THIS SITUATION TO GET THOSE KIDS TO THE HOSPITAL. WE, OF COURSE, ARE GOING TO KEEP MONITORING THIS. HOPEFULLY WE’LL HAVE SOME TYPE OF AN ANSWER AS TO WHAT THE CHEMICAL SMELL WAS HERE IN THE SCHOOL HERE. LISA. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, IT’S JUST, IT’S SUCH A MYSTERY AND I’M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT POSSIBLY THAT’S MAKING THEM ALL FEEL SO SICK. BUT GREAT NEWS THAT THAT TEACHER ACTED SWIFTLY AND DID EXACTLY WHAT S

10 students taken to hospital after chemical odor detected at Sacramento elementary school

The students are in stable condition, the Sacramento Fire Department tweeted.

Updated: 1:31 PM PDT Oct 13, 2022

Ten students were taken to a hospital Thursday with minor complaints after they were exposed to something that smelled like chemicals in a portable 4th grade classroom at Ethel Phillips Elementary School in Sacramento, fire officials said. The students were in stable condition when they left for the hospital and are being monitored, Capt. Keith Wade with the Sacramento Fire Department said. “We’re just thankful that no one was seriously injured,” he said. A Haz-Mat team responded to learn more about the unidentified odor. Wade said that tests could take up to a couple of hours to determine what the issue is. It’s possible there was a problem with the HVAC system of the portable classroom where the smell was isolated, he said. The situation unfolded around 9:30 am when a student in the back of the classroom began to experience nausea and had an upset stomach, Wade said. Several other students had the same complaints, as did the teacher, who then removed all 25 students from the classroom. “The teacher did the right thing,” Wade said. The teacher was taken to the hospital along with the 10 students who experienced symptoms, Wade said. Another student was picked up by their parents. The school was not evacuated and classes have since resumed. But parents of all students were called and given the option to pick up their children. Sacramento County public health officials will also be involved to sign off on the classroom’s safety. This story is developing. Stay with KCRA 3 for updates.

Ten students were taken to a hospital Thursday with minor complaints after they were exposed to something that smelled like chemicals in a portable 4th grade classroom at Ethel Phillips Elementary School in Sacramento, fire officials said.

The students were in stable condition when they left for the hospital and are being monitored, Capt. Keith Wade with the Sacramento Fire Department said.

“We’re just thankful that no one was seriously injured,” he said.

A Haz-Mat team responded to learn more about the unidentified odor. Wade said that tests could take up to a couple of hours to determine what the issue is. It’s possible there was a problem with the HVAC system of the portable classroom where the smell was isolated, he said.

The situation unfolded around 9:30 am when a student in the back of the classroom began to experience nausea and had an upset stomach, Wade said.

Several other students had the same complaints, as did the teacher, who then removed all 25 students from the classroom.

“The teacher did the right thing,” Wade said.

The teacher was taken to the hospital along with the 10 students who experienced symptoms, Wade said. Another student was picked up by their parents.

The school was not evacuated and classes have since resumed. But parents of all students were called and given the option to pick up their children.

Sacramento County public health officials will also be involved to sign off on the classroom’s safety.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Incident info: 2930 21st Ave/Ethel Phillips Elementary School. Unidentified odor described as “chemical” by students and staff in a classroom. 10 students being transported with minor complaints and in stable condition. Haz-Mat is responding to identify possible source of odor. pic.twitter.com/JtqCixePkw

— Sacramento Fire Department (@SacFirePIO) October 13, 2022

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This story is developing. Stay with KCRA 3 for updates.