ATLANTA — A southwest Atlanta day care center where officials said 16 children and three adults were exposed to carbon monoxide fumes was closed Tuesday while utility workers examined the building.
A man who identified himself as the owner of the day care center told 11Alive News that the issue which sickened those at the day care center Monday afternoon had already been fixed.
He declined to go on camera or to provide his name to 11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross but went on to say that the day care center would be closed for the remainder of the week.
Atlanta Fire Department spokesperson Cortez Stafford said the fire marshal was at the day care center on Tuesday and that it will have to remain closed until it is certified by the city's Office of Buildings.
Crews from Atlanta Gas Light could be seen looking in the crawl space beneath the building late Tuesday morning as they worked to determine if any of their equipment may have been tied to the leak.
The gas to the day care was left off on Tuesday at the request of the city inspector.
RELATED: 16 kids, 3 adults hospitalized after exposure to carbon monoxide at Atlanta day care center
Atlanta fire officials said that carbon monoxide levels were "very high" at the G.A.T.E.S. Children & Adolescent Academy when crews arrived at the center off of Hapeville Road shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday.
One child was suffering a seizure when firefighters got there while six or seven other children were exhibiting symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, Stafford said.
Utility crews examine day care center after carbon monoxide fumes overcome kids, adults
Stafford said investigators believe the carbon monoxide came from a furnace, but they were still working to determine the exact cause of the leak.
According to Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) spokesperson Reg Griffin, the state agency has an emergency procedure protocol for state-licensed day care centers, which includes handling the presence of suspected carbon monoxide fumes.
Included among the necessary procedures are contacting DECAL within 24 hours of such an event. Griffin said the proper procedures were followed in this case.
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