Sheldon, Iowa — It could have been much worse, but no students, faculty, or staff were harmed when a high level of carbon monoxide was detected at Sheldon High School on Thursday, November 20th.
Sheldon Fire Chief Brad Hindt tells us that just before 8:50 a.m., the Sheldon Fire Company was paged to 1700 E 4th Street — the Sheldon High School — to assist the Sheldon Community Ambulance Team and the Sheldon Police Department with the possibility of high levels of carbon monoxide in the building.
He says when firefighters got there, they did find an extremely high level of carbon monoxide in the very southern part of the building. Firefighters evacuated the remaining construction workers from that area and set up fans and ventilated that part of the building. A group of firefighters entered the hallway and kitchen areas of the school and found no issue with the air quality, which was then monitored regularly.
Hindt emphasizes that at no time was there any danger to the students or staff. He says the high carbon monoxide level was limited to the south side of the high school in the construction area. Once the air quality of the building where they were working returned to normal, the construction workers were allowed back in.
According to Hindt, the cause of the carbon monoxide was a construction worker using a gasoline-powered buggy to haul cement into the building. One person was transported to the hospital by SCAT.
He says the Sheldon Fire Company was back in service at 10:00 a.m.
KIWA Staff Photo
