Page 15 - School Planning & Management, April 2018

FACILITIES \{ LEARNING SPACES \}
Cleaning the Air in Classrooms
Dirty classroom air can slow learning and even make students and teachers sick. Find out how to improve indoor air quality or IAQ.
By Michael Fickes
NEARLY 200 high school students took ill at the Ocono- mowoc High School and the Oconomowoc Arts Center, in Oconomowoc, Wisc., on Thursday, Mar. 22. Some students
actually passed out and fell to the ground.
At 9:45 a.m., the principal spoke over the loudspeaker urging
students, faculty and administrators to evacuate the building. “There is a possible carbon monoxide leak,” he said.
Ambulances transported more than 100 individuals to area hospitals. Still others drove their own vehicles to medical care facilities.
The school remained closed on Friday, and on Saturday, district officials, with the help of Environmental Management
Consulting, Inc., (EMC) and the Western Lakes Fire Department determined that the school was safe to enter. Students and staff were admitted to the school to collect belongings left behind dur- ing the evacuation.
The school reopened for classes the following Monday.
While officials confirmed that the cause of the problem was carbon monoxide, the source of the gas had not been found a week or more after the incident. According to school officials, EMC, and the fire department isolated and tested the school’s boiler and hot water heater, which are believed to be the only equipment capable of producing carbon monoxide. The tests detected no leaks.
The cause of the incident remains a mystery.
APRIL 2018 / SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 15
PHOTO © LOPOLO