In the wake of the recent recent near-tragedy in San Juan County in which students and teachers at an elementary school were sickened by an undetected gas leak, Canyons District is moving quickly to address the need for carbon monoxide detectors in its schools.
 
Canyons Facilities Director Rick Conger and CSD Risk Management Coordinator Kevin Ray have arranged for two detectors to be placed in every building in Canyons District: one in the kitchen (where applicable), and one in the boiler or mechanical rooms.  This includes all schools, the Canyons Administration Building, Canyons Support Services Center, the Bus Depot and the Warehouse. The District has invested approximately $1,800 in this health and safety initiative.
 
Crews will install the detectors before students, teachers and staff return to school on Monday. The devices will be placed in boiler and mechanical rooms and kitchens, which have natural-gas-burning equipment.
 
While the District is not required to take these steps, the Board of Education and Administration believe in creating safe, clean and well maintained learning and working environments for students and employees.
 
The incident at Montezuma Creek Elementary, which thankfully ended with no serious illness or deaths, has “definitely brought a lot of awareness to the hazards of carbon monoxide in our schools,” says Ray. “As a District we want to be proactive and do everything that we can do address the issue.”