Sat Nov 21 2009
About 40 children were evacuated from the Early Learning Village Tuesday afternoon when a rupture in the school’s air conditioning system caused the building to fill with smoke.
No one was injured in the incident, which happened just after 2 p.m. Incoming kindergarten and first-grade students were at the school for a summer program called The Adventure Club.
Franklin County Public Schools Communications Coordinator Wayne Dominick said the HVAC leak emitted pressurized air, water and refrigerant.
Despite the heavy smoke, there was no fire, he said, and firefighters used fans to ventilate the building.
Dan Shouse, spokesman for the Frankfort Fire Department, said the leaked substance was R-22, a common refrigerant used in air conditioning systems.
Shouse said students and firefighters weren’t in immediate danger, but longer exposure could have caused irritation.
According to the Material Safety Data Sheet for R-22, overexposure to the chemical can cause dizziness and loss of concentration. At high levels, heart arrhythmia can occur.
Contact with the substance can irritate the skin and cause frostbite.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to phase out R-22, saying the greenhouse gas depletes the ozone and contributes to global warming. Starting in 2010, manufacturers may only make R-22 to service existing equipment, and new production will be banned after 2020.
Fire crews finished their work in about 30 minutes, Shouse said. They left the scene to FCPS maintenance personnel.
Dominick said part of the building will be without air conditioning temporarily.
“It was fortunate that it didn’t happen during the school year,” Shouse said. “Instead of having to evacuate a few students, they would have had to evacuate several hundred.”
Last year, more than 500 kindergarten and first-graders were enrolled at ELV.
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