MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — Hazmat teams were called to Muskegon Catholic Central after an irritant leak sent some students and staff to the hospital with breathing problems.
Muskegon Catholic Central President Ken Rasp said he called authorities around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday after sensing the leak. He said he was among those who felt a tickle in his throat.
Approximately 450 people were in the building at the time. Rasp said less than 20 students and staff were taken with breathing, coughing and tightness in their chest, but he didn’t have an exact number. All of them were conscious, he said.
Muskegon police aid there were no signs of “critical” injuries from the leak.
Rasp said school administrators evacuated the entire building when firefighters called in additional help. They had been in a “quasi-lockdown” before that, he said.
Rasp said administrators decided to cancel classes for the day when they knew they wouldn’t get back into the building because of the issue.
24 Hour News 8 arrived to see first-responders putting on hazmat suits before entering the school, located at 1145 W. Laketon Ave. Some students were also being picked up by their parents.