St. Louis Park, MN – Four children showed signs of elevated carbon monoxide levels Monday morning after a gas leak forced Kenwood Gymnastics to evacuate 23 kids attending a day camp program.
“The heater malfunctioned, and when it malfunctioned it started putting large amounts of carbon monoxide inside the building,” said Assistant St. Louis Park Fire Chief Mark Windschitl.
Seventy employees of a manufacturing plant on the south end of the building were also evacuated, with one showing an elevated carbon monoxide reading.
The fire department arrived at the 3440 Beltline Boulevard building shortly after 11 a.m., ushering the children and employees into two Metro Transit rescue buses and attaching Rad-57 devices to their fingers to test their carbon monoxide levels.
By noon, the department was using industrial fans to pump the carbon monoxide out of the buildings, though a natural gas smell was still present, and CenterPoint Energy staff were working on the heaters.