Authorities search for answers to carbon monoxide leak at Marshall Middle School

Physicians at Baptist Hospital tend to one of several Marshall Middle School students after an alleged carbon monoxide leak at the campus made several students ill. Photo taken Thursday, January 28, 2016 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less Physicians at Baptist Hospital tend to one of several Marshall Middle School students after an alleged carbon monoxide leak at the campus made several students ill. Photo taken Thursday, January 28, 2016 ... more Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor Image 1 of / 54 Caption Close Authorities search for answers to carbon monoxide leak at Marshall Middle School 1 / 54 Back to Gallery

UPDATE: A faulty gasket on a boiler in the primary maintenance room is the cause of a carbon monoxide leak at Beaumont's Marshall Middle School on Thursday, officials said in a release.

"The failure was unexpected since the district received its certificate of state inspection for this boiler in November 2015," according to the statement, released Friday afternoon.

The finding is part of a preliminary discussion held with BISD staff. A formal, final report on the situation is expected to be filed early next week.

The release did not state whether Marshall Middle School will be open on Monday.

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With Marshall Middle School closed for the day and parents keeping a vigil on their children's health, authorities search for answers in the carbon monoxide leak that sent at least 150 students and staffers to the hospital Thursday.

None of Marshall Middle School's students or teachers were severely injured after they inhaled the odorless and colorless gas, authorities said.

But the events leading to the leak and how long the suspected faulty boiler spewed the potentially fatal gas into the school's main building were hazy as of Thursday evening.

Neither local ordinance nor state law requires carbon monoxide monitors in public schools, and boiler inspection is left to a state agency to conduct. On Thursday, no one knew how recently Marshall's boilers were inspected.

A call for help was received from Marshall at 10:16 a.m. Thursday. Police, fire and EMS units responded, at first taking 12 people to local hospitals. As the number of victims grew, responders called for more help, which brought Houston-area units in to help.

As soon as fire officials suspected carbon monoxide, evacuation began and was completed within 10 minutes, said Capt. Earl White, Beaumont Fire marshal and incident commander.

As the response grew, children at the middle school, sixth through eighth grades, exited - some crying, gasping and walking with great difficulty.

Responders created a triage area to determine who needed immediate medical help. Some children were put into wheelchairs and placed aboard ambulances, and others went on stretchers.

The school has 70 faculty and staff and 787 students. Twenty percent were affected and taken for medical help.

Katelyn Dickerson, an eighth-grader, was in her grade's hallway where the principal told them to shelter in place.

"We were kind of anxious," she said. "Then my grandma texted me and told me there was a gas leak. I was shaking. I was kind of scared."

Lines of school buses were ready to evacuate children to West Brook High School's performing arts theater to await pickup by parents.

Other parents walked to an interior building on the campus to check their children out.

Jennifer Umanzor, a sixth-grader, said she was taking a test when the word came to stay in place.

"I saw a couple of people passed out," she said. "They told us to breathe in and out slowly. We stayed in the room. I couldn't smell anything. I was crying and stuffed up."

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can concentrate in an enclosed area and overcome its occupants quickly.

The first signs are dizziness and a headache, followed by nausea and vomiting.

"By the time you realize you're poisoned, you're already sick," said Sean Conley, assistant chief of the Atascocita Volunteer Fire Department. "We have carbon monoxide detectors (similar to oxygen sensors that clip on a person's finger) and there were significant levels on some kids."

At least 150 students and adults were checked out at area hospitals, hospital administrators said. None was admitted at Christus St. Elizabeth, Baptist Hospital or Victory Medical Center, they said.

Dr. Amy Townsend, vice president of medical affairs at Christus Southeast Texas, said the patients she treated mostly exhibited minor symptoms consistent with "low-level" exposure to carbon monoxide.

Some children showed up at the hospital complaining of headaches or nausea. Others vomited. At least two passed out inside the school, with one girl striking her head on the ground when she fell, Townsend said.

"We are still monitoring her," Townsend said.

Read the complete story in Friday's print edition of the Beaumont Enterprise.

EBesson@BeaumontEnterprise.com

DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.com