Allentown

Kids, Adults Hospitalized Due to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning at Allentown Day Care

Jesenia Gautreaux, the owner and director of the day care center at 471 W. Wabash St., said staff members called 911 after one of the children suddenly collapsed and would not wake up

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Several children and adults at an Allentown day care center had to be hospitalized due to carbon monoxide poisoning Tuesday morning.

There were 25 children and eight staff members at the Happy Smiles Learning Center when one of the kids lost consciousness around 7:20 a.m., Allentown Fire Department Capt. John Christopher said. Twenty-seven people had to be taken to four area hospitals due to “high” levels of carbon monoxide at the center, he said. No deaths were reported.

The children at the center appeared to be from around pre-Kindergarten age to around 10 years old, Christopher said. The kids and adults who were taken to hospitals had varying levels of exposure to the gas.  

Jesenia Gautreaux, the owner and director of the day care center at 471 W. Wabash St., said staff members called 911 after one of the children suddenly collapsed and would not wake up.

Paramedics were already at the scene when firefighters arrived, Christopher said. The firefighters carry air monitors and detected elevated levels of carbon monoxide, immediately evacuating everyone from the building.

Agencies from multiple surrounding municipalities had to respond to the “mass casualty event,” Christopher said.

NBC10’s SkyForce10 helicopter showed children being loaded onto ambulances around 8 a.m. as other kids – wrapped in blankets – and adults stood outside. Those being put in ambulances at the time appeared to be conscious.

They center did not have a carbon monoxide detector. Christopher said the state passed a law mandating detectors at day care centers, but the deadline to have them installed is not until Oct. 27 of this year.

Gautreaux said she was already in the process of having the detectors installed at her center before Tuesday’s incident. The heating and cooling system passed inspection in August, she said.  

The center will remain closed for the rest of this week, allowing workers to “fix what needs to be fixed” and have the center’s license reinstated, Gautreaux said.

“I try to do everything by the book. I put a lot of effort into this business. And not only do I put a lot of effort into this business, but I love what I do and I do what I do because I care for all my children,” she said.

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