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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Tear gas from prison hits school
Makes 35 students and two teachers ill
Thirty-five children and two teachers went home ill from Stony Mountain School on Wednesday after tear gas from a training exercise drifted from the neighbouring prison.
"At 8:30 a.m., some of the kids came in and complained that their eyes were irritated and there was a funny smell," Interlake School Division superintendent Ross Metcalfe said.
Metcalfe said paramedics checked out the children before letting them go home.
Stony Mountain Institution media relations spokesman Chris McLauchlan confirmed staff had conducted routine tear-gas grenade training in an outside area on the prison property about 500 metres from the school.
"We've been doing this for more than 10 years and we've never had an incident before," McLauchlan said.
There was little or no wind, and prison staff were surprised to hear the tear gas had drifted, he said.
Until the school figured out what had happened, Metcalfe said, it was swarmed by paramedics, RCMP, emergency personnel, division staff and provincial Workplace Safety and Health personnel checking the school's air-quality equipment.
Interlake's full emergency preparedness plan went into effect, Metcalfe said.
With social media, "it's on Facebook before you know it," he said, adding he sent a letter home Wednesday with the rest of the school's 209 students.
One mother said the majority of children were fine and didn't experience irritation of their eyes, nose or throat. The school called parents of affected students, but many other parents didn't find out about the incident until they read the letter sent home with their children.
"I read about it on Facebook, so I went to the school and picked up my son," said Jean, who asked that her last name not be used. "I'm quite angry to have found out that way and not from the school. Even though my child was fine, I'd still like a call from the school."
McLauchlan said the prison will review all its procedures. Once they realized what had happened, prison staff immediately contacted the school and paramedics to discuss what was in the tear gas and the appropriate treatment for anyone exposed to it.
There is no indication anyone else in the community was affected, McLauchlan said.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 18, 2012 A5
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