CEDAR LAKE, Ind. (STMW) — A natural gas leak that smelled like “car exhaust” sent 47 Hanover Central High School students and teachers to area hospitals Friday morning.
As a precaution, Hanover Community School Corp. officials dismissed the middle and high school students as emergency responders and investigators swarmed the school, located at 10120 W. 133rd Ave.
Investigators determined the gas leak came from a faulty stove valve in one of the high school home economics classrooms, Cedar Lake Fire Chief Todd Wilkening said.
After making several safety checks with the school’s air handling system throughout the building, “everything checked out fine,” Wilkening said.
School Superintendent Carol Kaiser said she expects classes to resume Monday.
Earlier in the day, 45 students and two teachers went to the hospital after feeling ill with flu-like symptoms.
Students reported feeling sick at about 9:45 a.m., Cedar Lake Police Chief Roger Patz said.
School officials advised students and faculty through the school’s public announcement system to report to the gymnasium if they felt sick.
Reported symptoms included vomiting, nose bleeds, headaches and nausea.
Ambulances transported those who sought a medical checkup to Community Hospital in Munster, Saint Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point, Saint Margaret Mercy in Dyer and The Methodist Hospitals in Merrillville.
They were all treated and released by Friday afternoon, Wilkening said.
As soon as school officials determined the school would close, they alerted parents and guardians about the situation through an automated emergency call system.
Cynthia Singleton, a mother of two Hanover Central students, received an automated phone message alerting her that school was canceled due to “unknown circumstances.”
“Honestly, I didn’t know what to think,” said Singleton, of Cedar Lake.
She said she breathed a sigh of relief only when she reached her children through their cell phones.
“I just needed more information as a parent,” she said. “You panic until you find out what’s going on.”
After dismissal, students streamed out into the parking lot to get to their cars.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said 17-year-old Jordan Westhoff, a high school junior, as he surveyed the scene standing in the parking lot.
“When they told us to stay in our rooms, I first thought ‘OK, it’s a drug search,’” he said.
Hazardous materials teams and emergency vehicles from surrounding jurisdictions, including Lakes of the Four Seasons and Beecher, Ill., lined the school’s athletic center entrance.
Other students who either took the bus or had their parents pick them up were bused to Jane Ball Elementary School for their rides.
“I just have a headache,” said Ryan Yaverski, a high school junior, as he walked to the parking lot passing by dozens of emergency vehicles.
The odor reminded him of “car exhaust.”
Shelby Mager, a high school senior, agreed.
She was in a home economics class when she noticed the odor.
Mager, 18, and some of her classmates suspected it came from the “cooking room.”
“Because once we moved to the sewing room, (the odor) wasn’t as strong,” she said. “… I think (canceling school) was a necessary precaution.”
Abby Schweitzer, a senior, credited the faculty and staff for keeping the situation orderly.
“They were calm and steady,” said Schweitzer, 18.
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services