By Matt Hubbard
Baltimore Sun
BEL AIR, Md. — Eighteen students at The John Carroll School in Bel Air became ill Monday, and fire officials said they weren’t able to determine why.
The sicknesses unfolded before noon when two students required medical attention during the private Catholic high school’s Mass, school officials said in a Facebook post Monday.
Shortly after, numerous other students began to fall ill for unknown reasons, officials said.
Around 11:45 a.m., Bel Air Volunteer Fire personnel were called to the school for what they said in a Facebook post was the report of a “singular medical emergency.”
School personnel said they decided to end Mass and the school day early out of precaution for student safety. Bel Air Volunteer Fire units and additional mutual aid personnel began the evacuation, triage and treatment of the affected students and initiated an investigation into the cause.
According to the volunteer fire company’s post on Facebook, about 13 people were transported via emergency medical services units to area treatment facilities, while several others self transported.
The school said a total of 18 students were evaluated at area hospitals for non-life-threatening symptoms.
After the fire department and hazmat personnel investigated the school — checking air quality using what the fire company said were “specialized metering devices” — nothing conclusive was found that could be attributed to the cause of illness, officials said in the Facebook post.
Shortly before 1 p.m., school officials said they were allowed to reenter the building.
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