FUMES SPUR EVACUATION AT JUNIOR HIGH.

Byline: James J. Rodriguez Daily News Staff Writer

Noxious fumes that leaked into a classroom forced the evacuation Thursday of about 200 students and teachers at Sierra Vista Junior High School, authorities and school officials said.

Nobody was hospitalized, but five students and two instructors, who complained of nausea, dizziness and headaches, were treated at the school by paramedics, then later released, Principal John Kerwin said.

Hazardous materials officials traced the source of the fumes to patches placed on the roof recently to repair leaks, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Ben Wolfe. The fumes were not toxic.

"It's kind of scary any time a Hazmat unit comes in," Kerwin said. "But the kids were excellent."

Thursday's unseasonably warm temperatures apparently began melting the adhesive used for the patches, Wolfe said. Some of the patches were located near air-conditioning units, activated for the first time in several months, school officials said.

"The vapors were getting sucked into the classroom," Wolfe said.

Students and teachers said they began feeling ill about 10:40 a.m., Kerwin said. When he visited the classrooms and noticed an unusual odor, he decided to evacuate the 100 and 200 wings, totaling about six classrooms.

"It smelled like mothballs," Kerwin said. "It seemed to be getting worse."

Firefighters quickly arrived and sealed off the area with red "hazardous materials" tape while crews wearing breathing apparatus searched for the origin of the fumes. Evacuated students were taken to the library and other vacant classrooms.

The evacuations also came at a time when many students were going to lunch, Kerwin said. Many, who were congregated around a preplanned musical activity in the quad, were unaware of the situation at the west end of the school.

Others lined up at the school's yogurt shop, which opened for the first time Thursday.

"The weather is nice and it couldn't have happened on a better day," Kerwin said.

Eighth-grader Marisa Davalos, 14, was one of the students overcome by the fumes. She said she had been in the classroom for about two hours when she began feeling strange.

"The whole class was filled with fumes. It smelled like gas," she said. "My head started to spin. I thought it was a gas leak and we were going to pass out."

Davalos and others were checked out by paramedics in the nursing office in the administration building. Students overcome by the fumes were given the option of going home or remaining in school. Davalos chose to stay on campus.

"I still feel weak," she said, holding her hand over her forehead. "But I'm going to stay here and eat."

At about 1 p.m. officials with the Los Angeles County Fire Department Hazardous Materials Unit determined it was safe for the students to return to the buildings. Authorities, however, suggested that the building's ventilation system be left turned off so that the problem didn't reoccur.

Minutes later Kerwin got on the school's public address system and informed the faculty and student body of what happened.

"We want to thank all staff and students for your cooperation during this emergency," he said. "Some people have headaches, but it's nothing serious."

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PHOTO

Photo (1) County firefighters check if fumes at a Sierra Vista school building originated from an air-conditioning unit. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News (2) Eighth-grader Marisa Davalos said the fumes gave her a headache.