Concrete saw caused CO leak at Maine daycare that hospitalized 11, officials say
Following an initial investigation, the Office of the State Fire Marshal (FMO) says fumes from construction work being done at a suite adjacent to the Building Blocks daycare likely caused the initial carbon monoxide leak.
According to investigators, a propane-powered concrete saw was used throughout the day inside the suite as part of the construction work. Propane-powered gas saws are not intended to be used indoors and are often labeled to prevent use in unventilated space.
The FMO says carbon monoxide from the saw's exhaust likely seeped through either the HVAC air intake duct or through a suspended ceiling, infiltrating the daycare.
Officials say the project was not associated with the daycare, didn't have a proper construction permit for the suite, and covered a fire alarm system in the room where the concrete saw was used, which was why no fire alarms were going off upon emergency crews arrivals.
A subsequent investigation of the daycares heating system found no concerns related to emission leaks.
At the time of the incident, staff at the Building Blocks Daycare noticed an odor and individuals beginning to feel unwell. 7 children and 4 adults were eventually hospitalized with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. All were treated at Portsmouth Hospital and have since been discharged.
The name of the construction company was not immediately available and it's unclear if any fines or charges will be levied.
State Fire Marshal Shawn Esler praised staff members at the daycare for taking action and preventing tragedy.
'It is important to note that daycare providers of the Building Blocks Learning Center recognized a problem and took action,' Esler said. 'They evacuated children and staff to safety and notified the fire department as soon as they recognized something was wrong. Their quick response, the professionalism of the Kittery Fire Department, and the medical expertise of the Portsmouth Regional Hospital helped prevent a tragedy.'
The investigation remains ongoing and no further information was immediately available.
Officials from the Kittery Fire Department, Kittery Code Enforcement, the Maine Fuel Board, and the FMO were on scene until after midnight Wednesday gathering information related to the incident.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
9 hours ago
- CNBC
Struggling to focus? It could be 'popcorn brain': What it means and how to fix it, from a Harvard doctor and stress expert
Nearly everyone is overloaded with information these days. In each minute of every day, 138.9 million reels are played on Instagram and Facebook, according to a 2024 report by Domo called "Data Never Sleeps." Consuming this much content on a daily basis has shown to have negative effects on a person's ability to focus. Since 2004, psychologist Gloria Mark has studied attention spans, and her research shows that people's attention when viewing a screen decreased from an average of two and half minutes in 2004 to an average of 47 seconds in 2016 — which is about the length of many videos on social media. But the impacts don't stop there. In Harvard physician Dr. Aditi Nerurkar's book, "The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience," she discusses yet another side effect of information overload: "popcorn brain." Popcorn brain is when "our brains get habituated to this constant streaming of information, making it harder for us to look away and disconnect from our devices, slow down our thoughts, and live fully offline," Nerurkar wrote in her book. "While not a true medical diagnosis, popcorn brain is a growing cultural phenomenon." Here's how to gain more control over what you're consuming, and shift your popcorn brain. The concept of popcorn brain was created by researcher David Levy in 2011, and it can look like staying up-to-date with the news to frequently checking your social media to see who's engaging with what you're sharing. The overload of information can lower your productivity levels, affect your memory and cause you to feel more stressed. To get out of the loop of picking up your phone every few minutes, and ditch your popcorn brain, Nerurkar suggests four practices: Ditching your smartphone won't be easy when you first start, she acknowledged. It's important to have helpful alternatives for when you want to reach for your phone like a notepad, a fidget toy, a book or a quick exercise like walking around the room. "Rewiring your brain and overcoming your primal urge to scroll is a major feat," Nerurkar said. "In time, your stress will thank you because you'll be deciding who and what gets your attention, not a device in the palm of your hand."
Indianapolis Star
9 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Carmel Utilities plans to update communications after boil water advisory lifted
Carmel Utilities has lifted the boil water advisory for West Carmel, but not before the outage could fuel complaints about what some viewed as the city's lack of communication about the incident. The department has plans in the works to update its communications system. The advisory had been in place since the morning of Aug. 11 after a fire hydrant was unexpectedly blown off the water line, potentially contaminating the water supply. 'As anticipated, the test results came back absent for any bacteriological contamination in our system,' Lane Young, director of Carmel Utilities, said after the boil water advisory was lifted on the afternoon of Aug. 13. 'We trust this result gives our customers confidence in our system and the safe water we provide for their use.' The advisory affected residents within the boundaries of the Hamilton County border to the west, 146th Street to the north, 96th Street to the south, and U.S. 31 and College Avenue to the east. More Hamilton County news: Speeders beware: Westfield police plan increase in traffic enforcement Now that the advisory has been lifted, the Hamilton County Health Department is reminding residents within the boundaries of the advisory, or anyone who lost water pressure during that time, to take steps to ensure their water is safe for use. 'It's important to take a few minutes to flush and clean your water systems,' Amy Ballman, director of Environmental Health at the Hamilton County Health Department said in a news release. 'This ensures that any potentially contaminated water is cleared from your plumbing, appliances, and fixtures.' The Health Department recommends residents take the following steps: Some residents voiced frustration with Carmel Utilities on social media during the boil water advisory. Many were frustrated they were not alerted via text message or email about the situation. 'I only heard about it from checking social media,' said Annemarie Barr, who lives in Carmel with her family. Barr told IndyStar she could have been feeding her 3-month-old son the potentially contaminated water all day had she not checked social media after her husband said their home lost water pressure. Even Mayor Sue Finkam weighed in on one of the critical posts on the Carmel Social Media page on Facebook. "The communication process will be reviewed because it definitely can and should be improved," she wrote. Young, director of Carmel Utilities, admitted his department is behind when it comes to communication with customers. 'Our team did an amazing job operationally finding the issue and getting it corrected as far as water flow and getting water back in our system,' Young said. 'We did not have the communication vehicle to blast an e-mail or a text. That's something we're working on.' Soon, possibly over the next few days, Carmel Utilities customers will have an online portal for customers to pay bills, view their water usage, update their contact information and opt into email or text message communications, Young said.
Miami Herald
10 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Vets find ‘something no one expected' up kitten's nose. And it can be deadly
Unless you're a die-hard cat lover or veterinarian, chances are you haven't heard of a potentially deadly parasite that can find its way into the orifices of your favorite feline friend. The staff at a New York shelter unexpectedly stumbled upon this particular parasite up the nose of a tiny kitten they thought they were treating for an upper respiratory infection. 'Taylor is only five weeks old, but he's already shown incredible resilience!' the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Serving Erie County said in a Aug. 13 Facebook post. 'He and his siblings were found outside by their current owner, and when he arrived at our Lipsey Veterinary Clinic, he showed signs of an upper respiratory infection. During his exam, our team discovered something no one expected — a cuterebra larva lodged inside his tiny nostril.' A cuterebra infestation isn't something to sneer at. 'They're larva from adult botflies that can burrow under a cat's skin or, more alarmingly, enter through the nose and migrate to the brain,' Cornell Cat Watch says. Dwight Bowman, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, told Cat Watch that an infestation is 'more rural than urban and suburban.' But it is a high-risk infection. 'If it ends up developing its lesion in the skin and migrates deep into the cat's body, it is lethal. The effects are neurologic,' Bowman says. 'Less significant infestations are subcutaneous big maggots the size of the end of the thumb under the skin.' Owners should contact a veterinarian when finding one on or in their cat and not try to remove it themselves. 'If not removed, the larva will exit the skin in about 30 days, drop to the ground, pupate and become an adult fly,' Cat Watch says. This particular larva discovered in Taylor was found in time. 'Thanks to gentle, careful work from our veterinary team, the larva was safely removed while Taylor was sedated. Today, this small but determined kitten is resting, healing, and growing stronger each day!' the shelter said. Taylor is not currently up for adoption. For more information on other adoptable pets, visit the shelter's website. Erie County is about a 20-mile drive south from Buffalo.
