Gas leads to evacuation of Bradford school

BRADFORD – A Bradford Elementary School teacher apparently was sickened Friday by methane gas coming from the school’s drains and was taken to a Bangor hospital for treatment.

Pupils and staff at the school also were evacuated Friday afternoon.

The school will remain closed until Sunday, when the air will be tested to determine whether the building will be opened Monday.

The methane gas seeped up through dry drains in the school’s floors, causing the teacher and others to complain of respiratory distress, according to a Fire Department official.

At about 1 p.m., school officials called in an ambulance for the teacher who was having trouble breathing. The teacher had complained earlier in the morning of respiratory problems, but her condition worsened as the day went on, according to Superintendent Leonard Ney.

Ney declined to reveal the name of the teacher.

The teacher was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for treatment. Information on her condition was not available.

Bradford Assistant Fire Chief Scott DeMoranville said he received a call at about 1 p.m. to survey the school. Other people in the building were complaining of similar respiratory problems when he arrived, the assistant chief said.

“I discovered that there was more than one person ill with pretty much the same symptoms,” DeMoranville said.

The building, which contained about 90 people at the time, was evacuated at about 2:30 p.m. Ney said pupils were getting ready for dismissal at about that time.

Fire crews wearing gas masks were sent into the building. After doing a systematic search of the building, they determined where the methane gas came from, DeMoranville said.

The meter detected a higher than normal level of methane gas in the air.