Students Sent To Hospital After Alameda School Gas Leak
ALAMEDA (CBS SF) - Fourteen students reported feeling ill after breathing gas fumes from a leak that occurred in a science room at Encinal High School in Alameda Tuesday morning, Alameda fire Capt. James Colburn said.
Four of those students were taken to hospitals to be evaluated, and the other 10 were released to their parents, Colburn said.
The gas leak was reported at 8:50 a.m. at the high school, located at 210 Central Ave.
Responding firefighters determined that the source was a "flex line" underneath a work table in the science room that fed gas to work stations used by students, according to Colburn.
Firefighters, school maintenance personnel and PG&E employees all looked for the source of the leak, but Colburn said "it took a while" to find it.
Alameda police Lt. Jill Ottaviano said the leak initially prompted school officials to evacuate the entire campus, but after it was determined that the leak was confined to the one science classroom, all students except for those in that room were allowed to return to class.
Colburn said firefighters used fans to air out the science classroom.
He said 20 firefighters responded to the incident, and remained on scene until shortly before 11 a.m., when students were allowed to return to the science classroom.
Colburn said he didn't yet have a medical update on the four students who were taken to hospitals. School officials weren't immediately available for comment.
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