KITTERY (WGME) — Several children and adults were rushed to the hospital after a suspected carbon monoxide leak at a day care center in Kittery, but all are expected to recover, officials said.
State officials are investigating the incident at Building Blocks Learning Center off Route 236. Twenty-seven children and 10 staff members evacuated after the suspected leak.
Emergency crews responded Wednesday around 3:30 p.m. after daycare staff reported that children were complaining of headaches and nausea.
“We were seeing over 10 times the amount of acceptable levels of carbon monoxide in the building, so it was a fairly high-level,” Kittery Fire Chief Craig Alfis said.
Portsmouth Regional Hospital treated seven children and four adults, including one child as young as one-year-old. They have all since been released from the hospital and all are expected to recover thanks to quick medical attention.
“These kids didn’t have that high of a level, but the levels were probably three times the upper limit of normal,” Dr. Marc Grossman, an ER doctor who treated the patients, said. “Keep in mind, a child should have a level of zero.”
An inspection of the daycare in June shows the center had a working carbon monoxide detector. However, investigators said it is still unclear whether the alarm was going off at the time of the incident incident.
“We’re still looking into that,” Alfis said. “That’s part of the pending investigation.”
Maine State Fire Marshal Shawn Esler says investigators will continue to work through the night Wednesday to determine the cause of the incident.
“We intend to be here throughout the night,” Esler said. “We have a lot of questions, and we don’t have all the answers right now.”
The fire marshal says he’s hoping to have more information by Thursday. He says it is unlikely the daycare center will reopen Thursday.
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