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Hopkins and Hunt county firefighters, EMS and law enforcement assisted at Cumby Collegiate ISD campus, where students were evacuated from first the high school, then the elementary campuses to the school gym after a noxious odor was detected at the school. Students exposed to the smell were check by emergency medical services personnel, officials reported. Staff Photo by Tamy Vinson
| Emergency Response
Cumby Collegiate ISD classes were evacuated midmorning Tuesday, Jan. 23, due to an unknown odor detected in the high school building.
Treating the matter as a possible natural gas leak, at least 40 students were evacuated from the campus to the school gym, to await EMS. Hopkins County Fire Chief Andy Endsley said a few people showed signs of mild carbon monoxide exposure and were being checked by Hopkins County EMS. Hopkins County EMS' dispatched the ambus to the school to standby as a precaution.
Emergency officials reported checking the area, but found no gas leak.
Crews did discover an issue with one of the HVAC units on the high school side of campus, however, emergency and school officials reported.
All students on the high school campus were evacuated from the building to the gym, located a distance away from the main building. The elementary campus later in the day was evacuated to the school gym to allow the entire CCISD to be checked for signs of carbon monoxide exposure, authorities reported.
'ATMOS is checking all our units now, and we should be able to return to our buildings once those are completed,' Superintendent Shelly Slaughter said during the lunch hour.
Cumby residents were asked to avoid the school area to minimize traffic congestion while emergency responders worked Tuesday.