Carbon Monoxide Emission Keeps Lakewood Elementary Closed
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) -- Lakewood Elementary in Dallas will not open after all do to concern about carbon monoxide levels.
The Dallas Independent School District says Lakewood Elementary would not be in session Wednesday.
Carbon monoxide levels were acceptable when checked in classrooms Wednesday morning, but remnants were present once a boiler was started.
A DISD spokesman says that once the school's boiler was turned on, high levels of carbon monoxide were detected.
"That was definitely a concern, considering the boiler would have to be on all day, emitting that," says the Spokesperson.
The district issued a tweet saying:
[tweet https://twitter.com/dallasschools/status/573114696863113219 width='330']
DISD initially identified the source of the problem on Tuesday night -- a dead owl stuck in the ventilation system.
"In my 19 years I've never had an owl fly into a ventilation system," said DISD spokesperson Jon Dahlander.
But the scare has left many questioning the district's decision to not have carbon monoxide detectors on all campuses.
The state does not require detectors, and Highland Park ISD is the only district we contacted that has detectors in all of its schools.
Across the country, only four states require the detectors be installed in all schools.
"Does it take something really horrible happening for them to fix it?" asked concerned parent Mary Glen.
One parent tells CBS 11 that a group of dads plans on installing carbon monoxide detectors at the campus on Wednesday morning.
In all, five staff members went to the hospital on Tuesday, and dozens of students reported feeling sick on Monday.
A contractor's test showed elevated carbon monoxide levels on Tuesday, but a similar test cleared the campus for opening on Wednesday -- until the boiler was turned on.
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