Nine students and three staff members from the BradleySchool in Thompson were taken to hospitals to be evaluated after complaining of nausea and shortness of breath on Thursday morning and they have since been released, according to the superintendent of schools.
Nine students and three staff members from the BradleySchool in Thompson were taken to hospitals to be evaluated after complaining of nausea and shortness of breath on Thursday morning and they have since been released, according to the superintendent of schools.
Firefighters responded to the school complex on Riverside Drive in Thompson on Thursday morning, according to Thompson Board of Education chair Kathleen Herbert.
The complex is made up of the Mary Fisher Elementary School, Thompson Middle School, and Tourtellotte Memorial High School.
Superintendent Melinda Smith said in a letter to families in the Thompson Public Schools district that Bradley staff members complained of symptoms that caused them to think there was an environmental issue in their classroom at Thompson Middle School.
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The Bradley School Windham County is an off-site program that uses space on campus, including a class at the elementary, middle and high school, the superintendent said.
An ambulance was called, 12 staff members and students were taken to the hospital and all three schools were evacuated. The 800 students were evacuated for about 90 minutes.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the school nurse contacted the ambulance to have those people evaluated," Smith said.
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Tom Burelle’s 12-year-old son, Nathan, was in the class when his teachers and classmates started feeling ill.
“Everybody in his classroom was starting to get headaches,” Tom Burelle said.
“I was very relieved when I heard my son was OK,” he said.
Smith said that first responders found no carbon monoxide in the Bradley classrooms and students returned to their classrooms.
It's not clear what caused the students and staff to have the symptoms.
“We’re unsure what the diagnosis is of the people that are being evaluated at this time, but rather be safe than sorry, and we’ll continue to monitor everything,” Smith said.
Smith said she informed parents through a call and texts to keep them informed.
No additional information was immediately available.
