A 2014 carbon monoxide leak at the North Mac MIddle School has led to a law mandating installation of CO alarms in Illinois schools.
llinois schools must be equipped by Jan. 1 with carbon monoxide alarms under legislation that has been signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The Southern Illinoisan says lawmakers approved the legislation in June. Lawmakers were spurred to action after a carbon monoxide leak in 2014 at the North Mac Middle School in Girard, Ill.
About 140 students and teachers were taken to an area hospital for treatment after a carbon monoxide leak was detected in a water heater vent. Following the incident, the North Mac school district purchased its own alarms.
The law directs schools to install carbon monoxide alarms in each school building.