COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) – The Mississippi University for Women says it’s installing carbon monoxide detectors in three dormitories after the gas sickened students in one.MUW President Jim Borsig tells The Commercial Dispatch that 101 Kincannon Hall residents who spent two nights in hotels will return Thursday.
Students there awoke smelling of natural gas before dawn Tuesday, with 41 eventually evaluated at area hospitals. All have been released.
University and fire officials say a gas-fired boiler in the basement malfunctioned, spreading carbon monoxide through the five-story freshman dorm. Students were evacuated, but allowed to return later Tuesday to retrieve belongings.
Borsig says the 2,800-student university tested open-flame boilers in two other dormitories and found them working correctly, but is installing carbon monoxide detectors in all three. MUW officials still seek the malfunction’s cause.
