Update: Fire officials believe improper ventilation through the chimney caused the gas odor in Toano Middle School earlier today.
The odor seems to have come from the kitchen, where code compliance and school maintenance staff believe “products of combustion” from the water heater did not thin properly and instead collected in the chimney to cause the gas odor, said District Chief Bob Ryalls of the James City County Fire Department.
As part of the renovations from this summer, Toano Middle had three gas water heaters, which vent through the chimney, installed. Earlier this week, two of those water heaters were removed and the vents closed after an inspection determined they did not have the proper chimney certification.
The school plans to address the issue over the weekend, installing three vents for all three water heaters.
For lunch today, Toano Middle received assistance from nearby schools, according to an email from Principal Tracey Jones to parents.
Ryalls said one person — an employee — reported symptoms from the gas odor. The employee said she felt nauseated and had a minor headache. Emergency responders evaluated her on scene. The employee chose to not be transported to the hospital.
No other medical services were needed on scene.
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Students at Toano Middle School have been evacuated from the school after a report of an odor of gas.
The school resource officer reported a gas odor around 8:07 a.m. and requested the fire department respond, said District Chief Bob Ryalls of the James City County Fire Department.
As emergency responders from the James City-Bruton Volunteer Fire Department made their way to the school, students were evacuated onto the lawn.
The gas line was shut down and firefighters began searching for any sign of a gas leak using a gas detection monitor.
“We didn’t get any real hits on the monitor, so it seems it was just an odor more so than a gas leak … None of our detection equipment has detected a gas leak,” Ryalls said.
Fire officials are doing a final walkthrough of the building, and students should be returning to their classrooms around 9:30 a.m.
Ryalls said officials from the department’s code compliance unit are working with Toano Middle’s maintenance staff to get the school back up and running.
“During summer months, they’ve had a lot of renovations at the school. Code compliance is working with school officials to determine exactly what happened,” Ryalls said.
School officials are also working to make arrangements to provide lunch meals, as the kitchen has been shut down during the incident.
