17 UWM Students Hospitalized After Carbon Monoxide Leak

Milwaukee WI

01 March, 2022

1:16 PM

Description

MILWAUKEE, WI — Multiple University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee students were hospitalized after a carbon monoxide leak caused a dorm building to shut down Monday night. The University of Wisconsin Police Department confirmed 17 students had to be taken to a nearby hospital for carbon monoxide exposure at Cambridge Commons, university spokesperson Michelle Johnson told Patch. Each of the students were treated and released as of 12:37 p.m. on Tuesday, Johnson added. The commons had to be evacuated at 10 p.m. after firefighters discovered a leak in a basement boiler in the north end of the building, the university said in a statement. Students reported symptoms like dizziness and headache to the front desk. Images and social media showed the emergency announcement: "Please evacuate the building. University housing staff and police are responding," a university staff member repeated through the intercom. The boiler was shut down and staff opened windows to provide ventilation, the university said. Around 400 students moved to RiverView residence hall or stayed with friends in other residence halls or off campus. Cambridge Commons reopened at 5 a.m. and students were given the option to move to another residence hall, the university said. Residents in the north end of the hall will have to move while the boiler is repaired, which is expected to take a month.