The district said students were evacuated and firefighters were on the scene. HEB ISD said a maintenance team fixed the problem
The Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District said an HVAC unit was fixed after it caused carbon monoxide detectors to activate last Monday.
In an email to parents on January 13, the district said around 8:40 a.m. a carbon monoxide alarm activated automatically in an upstairs classroom at Shady Brook Elementary School.
The district said everyone was safely evacuated until first responders investigated.
HEB ISD said by 9 a.m., the fire department gave school officials the all-clear to bring students back inside the gym.
They traced the problem to a specific HVAC Unit in an upstairs classroom that caused the carbon monoxide detector to go off, according to the district.
Maintenance teams began working on the issue.
Students in downstairs classrooms were able to return to class by 9:20 a.m. The district said the fire department cleared them to return students to the upstairs classrooms by 10:15 a.m., but the district kept 6th-grade students from those classrooms with the impacted HVAC unit in the library for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution.
One mom who reached out to NBC 5 said she had concerns about the situation and took her son to the doctor after school.
Coats said during the day her son thought he wasn't feeling well because of his medication for ADHD or not drinking enough water.
She said after she picked up her son that day and heard his complaints of not feeling well, she took him to urgent care. Coats said her son was given oxygen and then transported by ambulance to Cook Children's to be evaluated.
"I was scared because I know the effects of carbon monoxide," said Coats. "I was petrified and I couldn't share that because I had to be strong for him."
Coats said her son is doing better and the principal has been checking in on them.
The district says it believes it handled the situation in the best way possible to ensure the the safety of the students and staff.