Cypress Bay High School cafeteria evacuated due to high levels of carbon monoxide
WESTON - The cafeteria at Cyprus Bay High School in Weston was evacuated Friday morning around 9:30 a.m. due to a suspected carbon monoxide gas leak.
The City Of Weston posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue "responded to Cypress Bay High School where three individuals experiencing lightheadedness in the cafeteria have been taken to an area hospital."
The three people were taken to the nearby Cleveland Clinic Hospital. All were adults and two were school employees.
"There were no students inside the cafeteria at the time. Hazardous materials were requested to respond and they did. They determined there was a carbon monoxide leak occurring in or near the cafeteria. In an abundance of caution the entire network of gas piping to the school was shut off," said Broward Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane
Only Building 1 was evacuated, and the students were moved to Building 300. Two hazardous materials teams ventilated the building and the carbon monoxide levels dropped to low.
"Additional adult patients are being evaluated and additional EMS units have been called in," according to an update from the city. "The school is taking all necessary safety precautions."
In total, five individuals were treated at the scene, including four school employees and one firefighter. All patients were transported to Cleveland Clinic Hospital.
According to John Sullivan, with the Broward County Public Schools district, said all of the students are safe. There is an early release for parents who want to pick up their children.
Students said they were concerned.
"I was scared. This is a really serious thing," Isabela Santa Cruz said. "When I heard people were being sent to the hospital, this stressed me out."
"Today is a sad day, having a leak," Benjamin Marchan added.
"There was a gas leak and they told us we could not leave our class," another student said.
"I heard there was a gas leak and people were taken to the hospital," said parent Kristin Smith. "I was worried about my children about the dangers and their exposure to it."
"We got a recorded message from the principal saying there was a gas leak in the cafeteria," added another parent Danica Velickovich. "Then they told us to pick up our kids at 12. I was surprised because two of the recordings said they were safe."
Broward County Schools Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn said they've evacuated the entire campus "out of an abundance of caution while our teams are assessing that leak so we can find it and rectify it so we can be back to normal operations on Monday."
Hepburn also thanked the first responders from both Broward and Sunrise Fire Rescue and their Hazardous Materials teams.
Parents from Falcon Cove Middle School, which is right next to Cypress Bay High School, received a recorded message from the school system saying "Falcon Cove Middle School is currently not affected by any issues at Cypress Bay High School. All day-to-day operations are proceeding normally on our campus. There is no need to pick up students early. Everyone is safe."
Broward Fire Rescue said the cause of the leak is under investigation.
Falcon Cove Middle School on the same campus was not been affected.
The source of the carbon monoxide leak is under investigation.
Cypress Bay High School is the largest high school in the state with approximately 4,800 students.
Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, tasteless gas and is highly poisonous. Depending on the level of exposure, CO may cause fatigue, weakness, chest pains for those with heart disease, nausea, vomiting, headaches, confusion, impaired vision, loss of consciousness and in severe cases, death.
