© KUTVMountainland Applied Technology College in Spanish Forks, UT
The illnesses started to pop up Monday morning at the Mountainland Applied Technology College as students in the dental and cosmetology programs were getting underway.
According to a college spokesman the symptoms appeared to be carbon monoxide related but firefighters and the gas company could not find any signs of the gas or any kind of chemical leak.
"They weren't working with chemicals to make them sick so that's why it's more of a mystery of nothing was really happening to create that issue of passing out," said Mark Middlebrook college spokesman.
"I had a headache and I was feeling a little dizzy, felt like I couldn't really breath," said Harlie Meyer one of 11 students taken to the hospital and then released. "Then I started feeling like I was going to pass out." One student did end up passing out according to Middlebrook.
"I really don't understand it," said Kaylee Thomas who also was taken to the hospital by ambulance to be checked out. "I just thought it was the flu and maybe I just needed to eat something."
The technical college in Spanish Fork is one of four campuses in Utah County.
It's been at that same location for 10 years and offers 48 different programs. According to Middlebrook, this is the first time they've ever experienced such a thing.
"We just don't know really at this situation why they would get sick, why they would pass out or anything whatsoever," said Middlebrook.
The building was evacuated and school was canceled for the rest of the day Monday but night classes resumed at 6 p.m.
Classes will be back to normal on Tuesday, but Middlebrook said the school will be monitoring the students health closely.
Well, it is an awful but at the same time it is a very strange situation. I hope that 11 students will get better soon. I think that students should be in safety at the college or university, they should not be worry about their health, they should concentrate on studying, they should share the experience and the knowledge, do their home tasks, write essays with [Link] . Hence college headmaster with the other managers should think about the better environment and preventive measures in the college in order to reduce the risk of such mystery illnesses.