A propane-powered saw may have sickened seven with carbon monoxide poisoning at a Kittery day care on Wednesday.
Staff evacuated Building Blocks Learning Center on Route 236 and called for help about 3:19 p.m. when they noticed an odor and that people were feeling unwell, according to Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Twenty-seven children and 10 adults were in the building at the time.
When firefighters arrived, they determined no alarm had been activated.
Seven people were taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital in New Hampshire, where they were treated for injuries not considered life-threatening and possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
“It is important to note that daycare providers of the Building Blocks Learning Center recognized a problem and took action,” State Fire Marshal Shawn Esler said in a statement. “They evacuated children and staff to safety and notified the fire department as soon as they recognized something was wrong. Their quick response, the professionalism of the Kittery Fire Department, and the medical expertise of the Portsmouth Regional Hospital helped prevent a tragedy.”
The fire marshal’s office ruled out the building’s heating system as the source of the carbon monoxide. Investigators determined the source was a propane-powered concrete saw being used in an adjacent suite, which is under construction, according to Moss.
The carbon monoxide from the saw, which isn’t intended to be operated indoors, was likely carried into the day care through the building’s HVAC system or through the suspended ceiling that had been removed during construction, Moss said.
Neither the fire marshal’s office nor the Kittery code enforcement office issued a permit for the suite, where construction was ongoing.
The fire alarms in that suite also had been covered. Investigators are still working to determine whether carbon monoxide detectors are part of the fire alarm system.
The investigation remains ongoing.
