Lurgan: Dance school evacuated in carbon monoxide alert

A children's dance school was evacuated on Thursday evening as firefighters responded to a gas alert in Lurgan, County Armagh.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service was called to industrial units on Charles Street at 17:15 BST after a smell of gas was reported.

They used gas monitoring equipment to check the scene and detected high levels of carbon monoxide in one unit.

No-one was seriously hurt but several people went to hospital for check-ups.

One ambulance crew was sent to the scene at 18:05 BST and they took two children and one adult to hospital as a precaution.

The owner of the dance school told BBC News NI that she raised the alarm because she smelt gas in the area shortly after her class started at 17:00 BST.

She said 25 children aged from four to 16 were in the school at the time, along with some parents, and all of them had to leave the building during the alert.

None of them were badly injured, she said, but a number of people made their own way to hospital to be examined.

NIFRS Group Commander William Johnson told BBC News NI that two fire crews and a hazardous materials officer were sent to the incident.

He said the gas monitor detected high levels of carbon monoxide in one industrial unit and low levels of the gas in neighbouring units.

The scene was cordoned off for a few hours but the incident was over by about 20:00 BST.