JFD responds to carbon monoxide, gas leak at day care facility

Thanks to the quick response of those at the Creative Center Daycare, a recent carbon monoxide and gas leak was quickly identified and rectified.

According to Johnston Fire Department Chief Peter Lamb, crews responded to the Hartford Avenue day care facility shortly after 9 a.m. on Monday morning for a report of a gas leak.

At the scene, crews reported an apparent odor outside of the building that had made its way inside.

“We began to get some meter readings of carbon monoxide anywhere from small amounts to up to 20 to 25 parts per million,” said Chief Lamb. “At that point, when you start reaching 20 parts per million, carbon monoxide can have an effect on you, and that’s a concern for us obviously.”

Further checks by the fire department revealed that the problem was coming from one of the building’s furnaces. As the building has multiple segments, multiple furnaces service the structure.

“We get outside the building again, in the back of the building, and we started getting readings of gas, as in a gas leak. So we had carbon monoxide in the building, we had a gas leak at the exterior of the building,” said Lamb.

The state’s Fire Marshall’s office was then called into review the situation. The Johnston Fire Department has the authority to evacuate a building, however the Fire Marshall’s have the authority to close an establishment until problems such as these are rectified.

At approximately 10:30 a.m., the Fire Marshals decided to close the facility for the day until repairs could be completed.

“There were no children injured, none of the adults were injured,” said Lamb. “The good news is that maintenance is getting this furnace repaired, and there was nobody injured or hurt. It was a positive outcome, somebody smelled something amiss and that was a good thing.”

Chief Lamb credited the reporting party for being alert and handling the problem quickly and appropriately. The Chief said that with the cold winter weather now here, these types of issues are common with heating systems and that there was no negligence on the part of the day care facility.

“They were diligent. The Fire Department is a tremendous resource, but we need the public’s help. It’s always a call to us to get us there, so they were very diligent in that fashion,” said Lamb.