KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ambulances were called to a second Kansas City School following a carbon monoxide leak Wednesday morning.

The Kansas City Fire Department said six students and two adults from Longfellow Elementary School were transported to hospitals after experiencing nausea and lightheadedness.

A number of emergency crews responded to the school near East 28th Street and Holmes Street around 9:30 a.m.

Staff evacuated Longfellow Elementary School. Students who did not experience symptoms were bussed to the nearby Manuel Career Technical Center.

BREAKING: Students at Longfellow Elementary School being bused to another school. This comes after a carbon monoxide leak sickened some students. The exact number is not clear yet.

We’ll have a live update on @fox4kc @ Noon. pic.twitter.com/Od5OEmQ1Gx

— Malik Jackson (@malikjackson3) October 19, 2022

The students and adults who were transported to hospitals are expected to recover, but emergency responders say it could have been much worse.

“It’s very fortunate because, as I said, carbon monoxide is lethal and we had extremely high levels,” Assistant Chief Jimmy Walker, Kansas City Fire Department, said.

Students moved to Manual Tech after gas leak

Around noon, ambulances responded to calls from Manuel Career Technical Center to monitor the students taken there. A medical director was on site at the tech center to monitor the remaining students.

That’s where students were released to their parents throughout the day.

“I was worried about them,” grandparent Dana Gibson said. “You know that can cause all kind of things going on.”

Urgency and panic filled the atmosphere as parents waited in line to pick up their child.

“I have stood in line for over 45 minutes,” grandparent Kimberly Bunting said. “It was horrible.”

I’m at Manuel Tech where parents are picking up their kids after a carbon monoxide leak at Longfellow Elementary School.
6 students & 2 adults were transported to hospitals after experiencing nausea and lightheadedness. @fox4kc pic.twitter.com/lgJh7YyGgD

— Tia Johnson FOX4 KC (@TiaJohnsonTV) October 19, 2022

“The whole school was filled with police officers, fire fighters, ambulance and it was scary when I saw the stretchers,” student Aubrey Bunting said.

Bunting is a sixth grader at the school and watched it all unfold.

“It was like calm down,” Bunting said. “Everybody is going to be fine. We’re going to take a bus to a different school and all that.”

The district said four buses were used to bring students over, meanwhile six students and two adults were taken to the hospital.

“It was more like people were feeling lightheaded,” Bunting said. “They felt like they were gonna throw up.”

“We noticed the symptoms from the kids before, that was our main identifier that something was off, was that we had some kids that were displaying some typical symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning,” KCPS Spokesperson, Elle Moxley, said. “That made us call emergency personnel to the building to check things out.”

The Kansas City School District said it notified parents of children at the school about the incident. The district said people taken to the hospital Wednesday morning should be released the same day.

District plans repair to heating system

KCPS said Spire checked out the heating system at Longfellow Elementary School last week and did not find any issues at the time. KCFD also did an inspection this month and did not identify any problems at the school.

The district is working with the fire department to determine fixes that need to be made and what needs to happen next.

“Now we are going to work very closely with the fire department to make sure this building is safe and then we will make a determination about what school looks like for these kids for the rest of the week,” Moxley said.

The school district said it has additional support staff available for students who may need it.