St. Cloud, MN – Madison Elementary in St. Cloud was evacuated Monday afternoon following a carbon monoxide leak.
Staff at the school discovered a natural gas odor and called the St. Cloud Fire Department. Personnel from the department were on site as of 4:30 p.m.
St. Cloud Fire Department Battalion Chief Leon Faust said firefighters were unable to locate natural gas but detected elevated levels of carbon monoxide. Faust said with the help of maintenance personnel they were able to isolate the heating unit causing the issue and shut it down.
Faust said the levels of carbon monoxide were not an immediate danger, but could have caused headaches after prolonged exposure.
Children and staff who were participating in KIDSTOPwere moved to the nearby Sts. Peter & Paul Church as a precaution.
Families were instructed to pick up their children at the church, 930-31st Ave. N.
District spokeswoman Tami DeLand said all district schools do have carbon monoxide detectors that are wired to an alarm services. DeLand said she spoke with the district’s supervisor of building and maintenance who said the levels of carbon monoxide were not high enough at the time to set off the sensors.
DeLand said Xcel Energy and the fire department deemed the building safe to go in shortly before 6 p.m. DeLand said school will be in session on Tuesday at Madison.