Gas leak puts young students into the cold
Parents chide officials at Mountain School for having kids outside for 45 minutes
Some parents from Norwood Park Elementary School want to know why their children were outside for 45 minutes in a -15 C wind chill on Thursday, some without coats.
“My daughter came home crying,” said Connie Marangwanda, whose seven-year-old daughter was among the pupils forced out of the central Mountain school by a suspected gas leak just before 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 27.
Marangwanda said she understands it was a potential emergency and that grabbing winter gear isn’t the first priority, but she said not enough was done by the school administration to combat what could have been “dangerous” conditions.
Paul Denomme, a superintendent with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, said a strong smell of natural gas prompted the evacuation at around 1:25 p.m. Normally, he said, the school’s population goes to an “evacuation site” in poor weather.
“In (this) case, the evacuation site was locked,” Denomme said in an email to The Spectator, “and staff couldn’t gain entry.”
Angie Middleton, whose daughter, Ryanne Evans, is in Grade 2, said the evacuation site for Norwood is supposed to be a church across the street.
Once it was discovered the church was locked, the school called for buses as temporary shelter. Police were also asked to help look after children, as were paramedics.
As the first wave of students was finishing loading onto a bus at 2:30 p.m., Enbridge Gas gave the all-clear to go back into the school.
In letter to parents, Norwood principal Rhonda Moules said it was an issue with the boiler, which is being repaired. But that letter home to parents is also a bone of contention.
“Why didn’t I get a message about this until 4 p.m.?” Marangwanda said.
“I want to know immediately if my child is out in the freezing cold in a T-shirt for 45 minutes.”
Denomme said the board received no reports of any injury or frostbite from the first responders.
He also said the school board would be “working with our community partner” at the locked evacuation location.
Middleton said some of the police and paramedics were giving their coats to some of the kids, and that she was told some of the children did manage to grab winter gear on the way out.
“And some of the older kids were giving the little kids their coats,” Ryanne, who is in Grade 2, chimed in. “That was nice of them.”