SALT LAKE CITY, (ABC 4 News) - With the news of kids and teachers getting carbon monoxide poisoning in Atlanta, it poses the question: Are schools here in Utah safe?
Are there carbon monoxide detectors to alert people before it's too late?
ABC 4 News went checking for the answers.
“If it's safe for kids and improves the safety of school, why not?” asked teacher and mother Emily Velasquez.
Tucked away in the boiler room at Clayton Middle School in Salt Lake City is a small white box. It’s something that may have protected the students in Atlanta.
“Its very concerning,” said Velasquez about the sick kids and teachers in Atlanta.
The small white box is a carbon monoxide detector. Velazquez is a teacher but she's also the mother of a 8th grader at Clayton Middle School.
“It’s such a minimal amount of work that we could do to schools to improve safety of students that it seems like a no brainer,” said Velasquez.
Utah state law doesn't require schools to have carbon monoxide detectors. There's actually only two states that do.
But despite the law, the Salt Lake School District says they have them in all of their schools.
“Over the past 10 years or so we've been retro fitting, renovating all of our schools and decided at that time to pick up the carbon monoxide detectors that tie into the electrical with battery backup”, said Jason Olsen with the Salt Lake City School District.
Olsen told ABC 4 News increased safety it brings to the kids is well worth it.
“So, it's a more secure safety feature for our kids,” said Olsen.
Velasquez told ABC 4 News if she's going to have a carbon monoxide detector in her home she should have one where she works and where her child goes to school.
“I wouldn't feel comfortable in my own home without having it,” said Velasquez.
Unlike the Salt Lake School District, not all schools in the state have detectors since it’s not required by law.
ABC 4 News checked with the state legislature to see if there are any plans to change that but they told us there are no proposed bills on that subject.
