Carbon Monoxide Scare at CVMS

 by Mason Ames

Carbon Monoxide discovered at CVMS caused over 47 individuals to be hospitalized at the emergency room. This shocking experience has shaken the community and has parents questioning if there children are safe at school. 

The day of the first public report was at Thursday, January 18th 2024 at 1:24 pm when CVMS sent out a message containing the following text. “Students were evacuated from the building due to reports of an exhaust fume-like smell in one of the wings of the school” 

Later that day, the school stated the “ALL CLEAR!” for students to return to their respective classrooms and school day. Only hours later at 4:11pm that same day, the school stated the following “about 25 individuals were advised to be further checked by a doctor because their levels were above normal.” These individuals were experiencing symptoms that were abnormal and concerning. They later explained that “We are concerned with the safety of everyone in our schools and will take necessary precautions to ensure this doesn’t happen again.” 

Although the fire department cleared the building, this wasn’t the end of the situation. On Saturday, January 20, 2024 some youth basketball games were held in the gymnasium of CVMS. This resulted in more people becoming exposed to the carbon monoxide. To quote the Utah National Guard “A total of 47 patients had to be presented to the hospital.” This compelled the National Guard to test the school. However, they never found the cause. “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.”

Although there still was no cause of the CO poisoning, the 85th CST suggests it could have been due to the construction that was going on within the school. Although the issue is over, it affected over 47 individuals with no definitive answer which has parents and students both concerned.

The question still remains. What was the cause of the CO poisoning? How will the school handle the construction if it was the cause of the poisoning? We can only hope that everything will return to normal for CVMS.