School Evacuated After More Than 6 Get Sick In Bergen

More than six people got sick at a New Jersey elementary school over the past two days, prompting the district to close the building, officials said.

Some children reported falling ill on Wednesday at the Gantner Avenue School in Elmwood Park in Bergen County, and then six six staff members were sent home sick - two via ambulance - at the end of the school day on Thursday, at approximately 3:05 p.m., officials said. No students were sent home sick on Thursday.

"At this point in time, we feel that although Bergen County HazMat, OEM, the Elmwood Park Fire Department, and Elmwood Park Police Department have deemed the building safe for occupancy, we will be

closing Gantner Avenue School tomorrow, Friday, December 15th, to perform an Indoor Air Quality Test with an independent, licensed environmental company," Anthony Grieco, superintendent of schools, wrote in a letter to the community.

Grieco said the Gantner Avenue Elementary School has the required amount of carbon monoxide detectors, and the Elmwood Park Fire Department and Bergen County Hazmat have not found any traces of carbon monoxide in their tests throughout the entire school.

Additionally, an outside vendor came into test the combustion in the boilers, and found everything in working
order, he said.

The HVAC unit was also repaired and inspected by an outside company.

"Out of an abundance of caution and to be proactive, we will be closing school to perform these additional tests, to ensure the safety of our students and staff," he said. "As soon as we have those results, we will be sharing them with the community. Thank you for you continued cooperation."

Patch photo