INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from Evergreen campus tragedy information page and KING 5 and KIRO 7 reporting on the December 11 incident327 chars
The Evergreen State College community is responding to a critical incident in the Modular Apartments on campus. Emergency personnel are on scene. Students in the vicinity of the Modular Apartments should avoid the area and follow directions from emergency personnel. We will provide further information as it becomes available.
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
The initial notification was deliberately vague -- describing a 'critical incident' rather than disclosing carbon monoxide poisoning or casualties -- consistent with early-stage notifications when the nature of the emergency is still being assessed.
Carbon monoxide concentration in the utility room later measured greater than 4,000 parts per million (PPM) -- a level that can be fatal in minutes; in one bedroom, concentrations exceeded 1,000 PPM.
CO alarms had triggered in the early morning hours of December 11 but were silenced by maintenance staff who believed them to be false alarms -- the WSP investigation identified this as a critical failure point.