A large number of people, including multiple children, have been taken to hospital after a carbon monoxide leak at a Pennsylvania daycare centre.
Authorities have said that 27 people were transported to four hospitals in the Lehigh Valley, according to WPVI. All of them are reported to be in stable condition.
On Tuesday morning, emergency workers responded to a 911 call concerning an unconscious child at the Happy Smiles Learning Center in Allentown in eastern Pennsylvania.
According to Captain John Christopher at the Allentown Fire Department, firefighters and EMTs were both made aware of the leak via alerts on their bags when they got to the daycare centre, prompting a full evacuation of the building.
When several people had symptoms, the response from the emergency services became much more substantial, the fire chief noted.
According to WFMZ, every ambulance available in Allentown was called in.
Several children were taken away on stretchers and others awaited transport to medical facilities.
WPVI and WFMZ also reported that the leak was classified as a level 1 mass casualty incident, which means that area emergency services and hospitals could become overwhelmed by the large numbers of affected people.
The fire chief added that other departments, including firefighters and emergency responders, were helping strengthen the local response.
Officials said that parents have been made aware of the incident and that daycare staff are collaborating with the authorities to keep people up to date.
A separate daycare centre not far from the Happy Smiles Learning Center opened its doors for children needing a place to go.
Staff from UGI Utilities went to the affected centre to look into the leak, WPVI noted.
Officials said there isn’t a carbon monoxide detector in the building but while legislation was passed last month saying that all childcare facilities in the state have to have a detector, the deadline of 30 days has not yet passed.
The Happy Smiles director said detector installation plans were already in place, according to WFMZ.
