This is the horrific moment 28 kids were raced into the back of an ambulance after a carbon monoxide leak at a daycare center.
Dramatic footage show the kids wrapped up in blankets outside Happy Smiles Learning Center before they were bundled into the back of ambulances.
Four members of staff along with the children were taken to four medical centers across Allentown after the leak – which was sparked by a faulty heating unit and blocked venting system.
Allentown Fire Department Captain John Christopher confirmed they are in a stable condition but were being looked over by medics.
Officials also established that Happy Smiles did not have a carbon monoxide detector installed.
The alarm over the poisonous gas was only raised when firefighters responded to a 911 call at 6:51am for a child who fell unconscious.
Legislation passed last month requires all childcare centers in Pennsylvania to have the detectors, but the companies had 30 days to make the changes.
The director of Happy Smiles said there were already plans to install a detector before the incident.
Of the 32 people taken to hospital, 28 of those who were treated for the poisonous gas were children at the daycare
Dramatic footage show the kids wrapped up in blankets outside Happy Smiles Learning Center before they were bundled into the back of ambulances
The alarm over the poisonous gas was only raised when firefighters responded to a 911 call at 6:51am for a child who was unconscious. Emergency services air quality equipment alerted the firefighters to the killer gas
Parents were informed of the incident, with some coming to collect their children and take them to get checked over
Officials also established that Happy Smiles did not have a carbon monoxide detector installed, but the director insists that plans were being made to do so
Emergency services raced to the scene after one of the children passed out due to the toxic gas at around 7am on Tuesday morning.
They scrambled the city’s entire fleet of ambulances amid fears they would be overwhelmed by mass casualties.
UGI confirmed to DailyMail.com they had multiple officers on scene and the cause of the leak was a ‘malfunctioning heating unit as well as a blocked venting system’.
The incident has been reported as a level 1 mass casualty, meaning that medics and emergency responders could be overwhelmed by the number of patients.
The incident has been reported as a level 1 mass casualty, meaning that medics and emergency responders could be overwhelmed by the number of patients
The center was evacuated as multiple people were showing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
Every ambulance in the area was called to the scene, which has been designated as a level on mass casualty event
Firefighters were then alerted to the carbon monoxide leak by their air quality detectors when they arrived on the scene
A few of the parents took their own children to the hospital, while others were being triaged outside of the building.
Capt. Christopher confirmed that a 911 call at 6:51am was initially a medical call for a child who was unconscious.
Firefighters were then alerted to the carbon monoxide leak by their air quality detectors when they arrived on the scene.
He added that ‘every Allentown ambulance in use’ for the ongoing incident, with all of the children eventually being taken to hospital to be monitored.
The center was then evacuated as multiple people were showing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Several children have been taken to hospital after a carbon monoxide leak at a daycare in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Thirty-two people, including children and staff, have been rushed to four hospitals across the county and are in a stable condition
A number of children have fallen ill after the leak on Tuesday morning at Happy Smiles Learning Center on Wabash Street
Children were removed from the property on stretchers, and are being taken to various hospitals across the Lehigh Valley.
Multiple emergency services, including ambulances and firetrucks, were on the scene.
A number of children were still waiting to be transported at around 8am according to 69 News.
Officials confirmed that parents have been notified of the incident, and authorities are working with daycare center employees to keep everyone informed.
Another daycare around the corner has opened up its facility to keep children safe and warm.