A total of 25 students and faculty from Chatfield High School were transported to three area hospitals today after an unknown airborne irritant caused them to become ill, Lynn Setzer, spokesperson for Jeffco Public Schools said.
Setzer said 17 Chatfield staff and eight students, were taken to Swedish Medical Center, Swedish Southwest and Littleton Adventist Hospital.
She said the 25 experienced coughing, choking, nausea and headaches.
Setzer said no decision has yet been made whether the school will be open for classes Monday, the first day of the school year.
She said the district plans to run the school’s “HVAC” air-flow system constantly over the weekend and monitor the air to see if it poses a hazard.
The school was turned over to the school district by emergency personnel about 3:15 p.m., after HAZMAT crews could not find the source of the problem.
Michelle French, spokeswoman for the West Metro Fire Protection District, said the fire district sent 13 fire crews, four medical units and two HAZMAT crews to the Jefferson County school.
At the time of the incident, about 500 ninth-grade students were undergoing orientation.
Josh Olinger, who was at the school for freshman orientation, said he was in a classroom where a teacher and approximately 21 students were getting to know each other. He said the fire alarms went off and the school was evacuated.
Josh said that as they sat outside, a faculty member came up and said the ventilation system had not worked properly and that people were getting dizzy and light-headed.
“People started saying there were gas leaks and people were feeling dizzy,” he said.
“I thought it was crazy. I was hot and thirsty,” said Josh, 14, who is the son of a Post reporter.
French of West Metro said the large response was due to concerns for the safety of the students and teachers.
Emergency responders set up a decontamination unit at the school.
To be decontaminated, the students and faculty had to remove their clothing and be sprayed down with water. French stressed that the entire procedure is done discreetly.
They are then given clean clothing.
French said none of the students or faculty reported a smell associated with the irritant.
Setzer said the students were sent home early. The school district has buses at the school to take home students who took buses this morning.
She said the school district also alerted parents with its new emergency messaging system to pick up their children.
Freshman Josh said he eventually took a school bus home.
“What a welcome!” Josh said of his first day at Chatfield.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
