CEDAR CITY — Students and staff are set to return to Canyon View Middle School Wednesday after multiple tests determined the building to be safe for occupancy, Iron County School District officials announced Tuesday afternoon.
According to a news release sent out shortly after 4 p.m. by Shauna Lund, the district’s communications coordinator, Tuesday’s testing included “an independent check of carbon monoxide detectors which exist in every classroom, hallway and public area as is required by law.”
“These tests concluded that all carbon monoxide detectors are and were functioning normally,” the release stated.
The school had switched to online learning on Monday and Tuesday to allow time for the detector testing to be conducted.
“The district would not open the school unless we knew it to be safe,” Iron County School District Superintendent Lance Hatch stated in the release. “These are our students, our colleagues and for many of us, our own family members. We would not knowingly put those we love — or those trusted to our care — in harm’s way.”
As previously reported, the school was evacuated Thursday, Jan. 18, after a suspected carbon monoxide contamination set off at least one CO detector.
Following that incident, dozens of students and some adults were reportedly taken to area medical facilities for treatment, on that day and on the days that followed, including several individuals who underwent hyperbaric treatment at St. George Regional Hospital.
In Tuesday’s news release, school district officials expressed confidence about the source and cause of the initial incident:
ICSD is certain the air was contaminated due to a remodeling project near D Hall. Although it is unknown exactly how this occurred, it is believed exhaust from gas-powered equipment entered the building. An independent group is investigating the construction area and the protocols in place. In the meantime, the district has not allowed any use of gas-powered tools in the building during school hours and none at all until it determines the exact cause of the contaminated air.
Since Thursday’s initial incident, the building has been tested and declared safe for occupancy by multiple entities, including Cedar City Fire Department, Dominion Energy and Utah Army National Guard’s 85th WMD Civil Support Team, which deployed eight personnel into the building with specialized equipment on Sunday.
On Monday, Lt. Col. Robert Dent, Commander of the 85th, sent out a news release that concluded as follows: “After completing rigorous testing, the 85th CST concluded that there were no airborne hazards in Canyon View Middle School at the time of our analysis. The possibility of an airborne hazard that we could not detect is extremely unlikely.”
The National Guard’s statement also noted that although Thursday’s incident suggests that there was a short-term carbon monoxide issue in the construction area, it “was not at levels that were immediately dangerous to life or health.”
“This is evidenced by the fact that multiple employees who were in the area were not symptomatic,” Dent said in the National Guard’s news release, which can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here.
“Additionally, the building has been occupied almost continuously since this incident by engineering staff and the fire department,” the release added. “All are asymptomatic and had negative CO levels on our arrival.”
In the school district’s statement on Tuesday, school officials also addressed concerns being voiced by parents while reiterating their confidence that the Canyon View Middle School building is safe.
“Posts on social media insist that the district and school leaders are not telling the truth about this incident. That is not the case,” the statement reads, adding, “District and school administrators understand the frustration of not being able to visually pinpoint and fix a cause. We are confident in the safety of the school.”
Even with such reassurances, the district’s statement also acknowledges that some parents may not yet feel ready to send their children back to school:
Attendance at school is an individual matter and parents will make the ultimate choice to keep their child home anytime they feel it is unsafe. The decision will be respected and teachers will work with parents and students to stay up on coursework. ICSD also has an online school option for anyone who feels their child cannot safely return to school.
Tuesday’s news release concludes by thanking Cedar City Fire Department for their quick response to the initial incident and for their subsequent, ongoing monitoring of the building. The fire department plans to have a crew at the school on Wednesday morning, the statement adds.
“The care provided by the Cedar City Hospital emergency room and St. George Hyperbaric Treatment Center is also appreciated,” the press release said. “We are also grateful for the National Guard 85th WMD Civil Support Team for their extremely thorough support. Additional thanks to Iron County Emergency Manager George Colson and Governor Spencer Cox for mobilizing the 85th.”
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.