Bourbonnais Fire Dept. on LeVasseur Elementary School Carbon Monoxide

Fire Department Press Release on LeVasseur Elementary School Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

From: Jen Warmoth 

Subject: 3/16/2017 – Press Release

At 1:02 pm the Bourbonnais Fire Protection District responded to 601 W. Bethel (LeVasseur Elementary School) for an unknown odor in the building.  We responded with an engine and ambulance.  No readings of CO or readings of elevated levels of natural gas were found.  While on scene faculty members approached our personnel reporting several students with headaches and nausea.  As time passed more and more students presented with similar symptoms. 

The decision was made to evacuate the entire school.  Faculty separated students w/o symptoms and all students with symptoms were moved to the front entrance of the school.  Buses arrived and the non-sick students and faculty were transported to Liberty Intermediate School, 1690 N Career Center Road in Bourbonnais.

LeVasseur Elementary School Carbon Monoxide Second Wave of Hospitalizations

A total of 22 students and 3 faculty were transported to both hospitals in Kankakee.  CO readings were present in many of these patients with readings ranging from 2-10 ppm.  We did not have any reading inside the school from CO.

At 3:01 as we were completing our work at LeVasseur, we received reports of more victims at Liberty Intermediate School at 1690 N Career center Road.  Readings of CO ranged from 2-10 ppm.  When all was said and done a total of 48 patients were taken to both Kankakee Hospitals from the two schools.  In addition some parents refused treatment of their children but later transported them to both hospitals for evaluation.

 Ed St. Louis

Fire Chief, Bourbonnais FPD

bourbonnaisfire.org