Gas Leak at Okla. School Sends Six to Hospital

Nov. 13--Oklahoma City Public Schools officials are considering carbon monoxide detectors after a gas leak sent several Lee Elementary students and staff members to local hospitals Monday.

The school in southwest Oklahoma City was expected to reopen Wednesday, a day after closing so workers could replace a recently installed rooftop heating unit responsible for the leak, a district spokeswoman said.

A second district school -- Coolidge Elementary -- was evacuated Tuesday while authorities investigated a possible natural gas leak. No gas was detected.

As a result of the Lee Elementary incident, the school district is looking into putting detectors in each of the district's 2,500 classrooms, spokeswoman Kathleen Kennedy said.

"Every school in the district and every classroom in the district is what we're looking at right now," Kennedy said. "The safety of our students is our No. 1 concern."

State law does not require the safeguards in schools, Kennedy said. She added that district officials are exploring models and prices of detectors.

Three Lee Elementary students and three staffers were taken to hospitals Monday afternoon after people began complaining of dizziness, nausea, and stinging eyes. Oklahoma Natural Gas and the Oklahoma City Fire Department later confirmed the presence of carbon monoxide.

They were treated and released, a spokeswoman confirmed.

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