Several students sickened, one hospitalized after Temecula HazMat incident
TEMECULA — Fire officials are working to determine the source of an unidentified odor that sickened several students and forced the evacuation of a Temecula area classroom earlier this afternoon, Wednesday, May 29. One student was eventually transported to an area hospital for evaluation after today’s incident, which happened at River Springs Charter School in the 42000 block of Lyndie Ln.
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Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters who responded to the charter school just after 2:30 p.m., learned the odor was confined to a single classroom, which was evacuated as a precautionary measure, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire spokesperson April Newman later reported.
“There is a total of five juvenile patients with complaints of not feeling well,” Newman explained in an initial incident report. “All five patients have a parent or guardian on scene and are being evaluated by paramedics.”
Newman updated around 3:30 p.m. that one child had been transported to an area hospital by ground ambulance with minor symptoms.
“The four remaining patients were evaluated by paramedics on scene and further treatment was declined,” said Newman.
Riverside County Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Team, along with Riverside County Environmental Health officials responded to the scene and are assisting with the ongoing investigation.
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Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.