Carbon monoxide leak at daycare hospitalizes 28 children and 4 adults

First responders declared the incident a 'mass casualty event.'

Over 30 people, mostly children, were hospitalized on Tuesday morning due to a carbon monoxide leak at a daycare facility.

Ambulances scrambled to evacuate 28 children and 4 adults from the Happy Smiles Learning Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania after a child collapsed just before 7am on Tuesday.

First responders arrived on the scene after staff at the daycare placed a 911 call.

‘All of a sudden, he just collapsed,’ the director of Happy Smiles told WFMZ. ‘When they tried to bring him back, but he was just not responding, so my staff called 911 right away.’

When firefighters got to the facility, their carbon monoxide monitors went off. A ‘mass casualty’ event was declared, and every ambulance in the city was mobilized to transport children and staff to area hospitals.

Allentown Fire Department Captain John Christopher said first responders did triage and transported every person at the scene to hospitals with symptoms.

All 32 reported victims were in stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon.

Christopher also said the facility did not have a carbon monoxide detector. A city ordinance requiring their installation was passed earlier this year, but daycare facilities were given until October 27 to comply with the rule.

The director of Happy Smiles told WFMZ that she planned to comply with the rule by the deadline.

Pennsylvania currently does not require educational facilities to have carbon monoxide detectors by law. The state Senate passed a bill requiring their installation in all childcare buildings, but it has not yet been approved by the state House of Representatives.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can leak from home heating symptoms. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

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