A carbon monoxide leak from the Cypress Bay high school cafeteria in Weston, Fla. left five hospitalized. This evacuation took place just before 11 a.m., before students had begun to enter for lunch. Three individuals were experiencing lightheaded-ness at the time authorities were informed. They were all adults, and two worked at the school. In the end, five were hospitalized, including four cafeteria workers and one firefighter.
The cafeteria had been open in the morning and had been serving breakfast. If there had been no evacuation, students would have begun entering the cafeteria at 11 a.m., as Cypress has four lunch periods throughout the day, each lasting 30 minutes. The first lunch began at 11:04 and the last one would have ended at 1:08 p.m.
Students were evacuated from their classes following the news, first from Building 100 with students being relocated to the media center. Then, at noon, all other students were released from their classes and sent home. Cypress junior Vikhram Baranidharan was in his AICE Mathematics AS-level class when he heard about the gas leak. “We were told to limit movement…I was then told that we had to evacuate school immediately and saw the empty cafeteria with the doors open as I exited the campus quickly and safely,” said Baranidharan. Two hazmat teams were sent to help with the evacuation and ventilation of the school. Falcon Cove Middle school was not evacuated.
Cypress senior Ashlyn Gao was in economics when she heard the news of the gas leak. “Carbon monoxide is quite dangerous, and I was nervous, especially since some of my friends were in classes near the leak…but I’m glad [Fire Rescue] helped everyone get home safely,” Gao said. Carbon monoxide is an odorless and tasteless gas, so it can be almost impossible to detect before feeling symptoms.
Weston residents could spot helicopters from their houses as well, as aerial coverage of the event was being recorded. “At first I didn’t even realize what was happening, but when I did, I was very concerned,” Heritage junior Aliyah Dania said. “It was unnerving to see three helicopters fly around my neighborhood, especially after hearing the news from Cypress.”
While going home from school after the early-dismissal, Cypress seniors were caught in a six-car pile up on Griffin Road, passing SW 166th Ave. A student driving home from school, who wishes to remain anonymous, was caught in a car crash with other students from their school. The cars involved in the crash included a gray Model 3 Tesla, a gray Hyundai Santa Fe, a blue Chevrolet Bolt, a Hyundai Elantra, a Nissan Sentra and a Honda Civic. This car crash took place at approximately 12:40 p.m., after students had been dismissed due to the gas leak.
The City of Weston has been updating parents on the safety measures being taken to help clean the air and aid in evacuation.
Students wait outside their cars following the car crash. This two-lane six-car pile up delayed traffic and led to only one lane being open on Griffin Road, as parents arrived at the scene to help their teens. (Photos/Emma Colarte Delgado)
The senior parking lot following the evacuation was empty, as students had been dismissed early and the campus evacuated. (Photo/Emma Colarte Delgado)
