How was the “gas leak” handled?
Teachers weigh in on the impact and outcome from the incident that happened on December 5, 2023 in which an overwhelming gas-like smell throughout campus (and in the surrounding neighborhood) led to an evacuation.
Following the incident, the school administration released the following statement to teachers, students and parents:
“The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain my top priority. Today, a strong odor coming from the community was noticed at our school. We have followed our Integrated Safe School Plan and have taken precautionary steps to prevent illness including having students and staff shelter in place in the football field and classrooms while odors were present. Meanwhile, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Los Angeles County Health HazMat Division are investigating the source of the odor and Los Angeles Unified’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety is conducting air monitoring at schools to ensure the safety of our students and staff. There have been similar reports from other nearby communities and schools. We expect to dismiss school today at the usual time following the guidance from health officials. “
Here’s what teachers had to say about that day:
Maria Salcido, History Teacher
By Hector S.
Q: How did teachers realize something was wrong that day?
The other teachers and I were in my room doing a professional development for teachers and i think it was around 9:20 or 9:30. It was around that time that we started smelling something, right, and the people sitting in the back corner of the room were like “Do y’all smell that?” and I had smelled something but I was just, like, “maybe it’s in my mind,” right, and when other people started mentioning it, then a couple of us were like yea we smell it, too.
And as time passed the smell got stronger and stronger and, as you know, a lot of you weren’t here because the school starts at 10:00, right. And so as the smell got stronger, I heard another teacher mention that his head started hurting, and it was kind of strange to be sitting here and the smell is getting stronger and we don’t know what it is and we’re not leaving the room yet, right. So a teacher got up and was, like, “I can’t be here anymore,” because even though he mentioned his head was hurting and that he didn’t feel good, we didn’t stop the professional development meeting which I feel like we should have because there’s a strange smell. We don’t know what it is.
Q: What were your thoughts on the procedure where they took the students to the gym?
A: I didn’t understand. I mean like our school, CATS, is typically in the sun when we have these emergency drills and I know staff has brought this concern up about how heat exhaustion and dehydration. Like, we are out there for a really long time, you know, and that is not for the best for students and staff and I would understand what it’s like to take us out of the shade but I’m no science teacher, but gasses can be trapped in a space so I was also concerned about that like, why are we going to an enclosed space? Is it safer to go to an enclosed space? And what is the reasoning behind that?
So oftentimes i feel like we’re doing things without often understanding the reasoning of it, and I think it’s important to have that communication with your students and staff. Being completely honest, I didn’t necessarily feel safe, and I know a lot of my students mentioned that they did not feel good and that they wanted to go home. A lot of their parents work or they might just have one parent and that parent works so they can’t pick them up.
Michelle Suarez, Science Teacher
Interview by Heyli G.
Q: Do you think the staff handled the evacuation properly? What could they have done differently?
A: I think that everybody did the best they could. It was just, I feel like we learned that our safety plan needs some adjustments and I think that I hope we can take the time to reflect on what happened. So we can make it better in case that happens again. Again, I want to say that everybody did their best. But I do feel like anytime there’s a smell of gas like we need to take it seriously. So that’s yeah.
Q: How did the gas leak/evacuation affect you?
A: I’m pretty sensitive to smells and it, that smell definitely gave me a headache and made me feel nervous and didn’t make me feel good and it also made me feel a sense of anger for the students cause I don’t think you deserve that, and after I found out what happened. I had a bad feeling about it, I was like, I feel like this is really shady and I found out that it was like an abandoned gas cylinder in Cudahy and it was leaky and it affected so many kids and so many schools. So that made me really sad and angry that it affected so many people and it was just like, that should never happen you know. So yeah.
Q: What was going on in your mind when you found out we had to have an evacuation?
A: My first thing always is just the safety of students. I take your safety very seriously ’cause your parents and guardians trust us with you and you’re the most precious gems of all time, and I feel that if, all I can think about is how can we keep you safe. How can we do what’s needed to keep you safe and also in contact with your parents and letting your parents know you’re safe. So that’s, that’s what’s always going through my head when anything like that happens.
Nicolas Candelas, English 12 Teacher
Interviewed by Ernesto H.
Q: Was the gas leak unexpected? How did it affect you?
A: I was adversely affected. I mentioned the gas leak multiple times. The facilitators did not respond to my comments about me having a headache and that the smell was foul, and they did not respond to me saying that I am asthmatic and I had a difficult time breathing, so I was getting ill. Other teachers were asking about the smell. I was happy to see Mr. Gosselin get on the radio and doing what he had to do. I was upset that the people who were presenting, kept on presenting. If it were a classroom of students and I were the teacher and I smelled something like that going on, I would stop teaching. We cannot learn in a toxic foul environment.”
Q: What were your thoughts about the procedure?
A: I think the procedure needs to be revisited. I don’t think everyone was on the same page. We have to have plan A, plan B, and plan C because parents would be in one gate, directed to another gate. We had elderly people who could not walk that far to meet the children. I was not here. I had to go to urgent care. I think this should have not happened. I think this is a complex issue. Mr. Gosselin did what needed to be done, but the facilitators at the [Professional Development] meeting, however, could have been more professional and not dismissed my concerns and the concerns of others that were expressed during the meeting on Tuesday.”
Kiana Sailor, Biology Teacher
Interviewed by Omar R.
Q: What are your thoughts on what happened?
A: I was shook at first because I just smelled like the smell of gas and I’m like, okay, what’s happening? Should I be fearful for my life? But, um, I mean, I think we handled it the best that we could, given that obviously it wasn’t expected. Um, yeah, I’m still trying to process.
Q: Why do you think this happened at the beginning of school?
A: Why do I think it happened at the beginning of school? Um, because the smell around that time started to become more apparent. Um, when I first arrived on campus, I didn’t smell any gas, but during my meeting I started to smell and it started to become stronger. So I just think it was the timing of it. Um, it just started to become stronger just before school started.
Q: What do you think the students’ reactions were?
A: I think given that it was unexpected, most students were pretty calm. Um, I did hear there were some students jumping fences and stuff. So for that reason, for some of those students, I mean, they were probably panicking, I’m not sure. But for the most part, the students that I, uh, were helping get to their classes, they seemed pretty calm. Um, some of them were even playing music, which I was here for. ’cause I mean, we were outside. There wasn’t much for us to do. So, yeah, for the most part they were pretty calm.
Q: So you mentioned the students jumping fences. How do you think the teachers and staff felt about it?
A: I think worried because, I mean, you, you could do your best as teachers and as staff members to tell a student, ‘Hey, don’t do that,’ or ‘Don’t leave,’ but you, you can’t like physically detain a student. So I think for that reason it can be alarming because if a student does leave campus without permission, it causes safety, safety hazards, or, or safety concerns. So that’s how I feel about it. Or I wonder how other teachers and staff members may feel about it.
Xiomara Sanchez, Environmental Studies and Lead Teacher
Q: How did the gas leak affect you?
A: It was stressful. I didn’t know what we were doing. I was trying to keep the kids calm but there was so much happening at one time. There were kids jumping the gates and people having anxiety attacks. It was just too much for me.
Q: Did you like the way that the school handled the gas leak? Why or why not?
A: I think that the school did the best they could considering the gas leak was unexpected but an emergency is always going to be unexpected. But I don’t understand why they didn’t just cancel the school day because during our meeting before school started we could smell the gas.
Q: What would you have done differently than what the school did?
A: I don’t know, you know, because the school did their best, but it was still so chaotic. I think I would have just cancelled the school day as soon as I smelled the gas, but I understand the school couldn’t just let out all of the kids.
Q: Do you feel that school will struggle in the future with another incident like this in the future?
A: I hope that the school won’t have another day like this. I hope that the school took that as a learning experience and go off of what they did good and what they did bad that day, but I hope that if in the future another incident like this happens, the school will be better prepared and handle the situation without as much chaos in the future.
