12-14 students and staff sick after cleaning-product fumes at Mexicali middle school

Twelve people, identified in some reports as 10 students and two teachers, were evaluated at hospitals after inhaling strong fumes from cleaning products mixed on the campus of Secondary School No. 38, authorities said. Other local accounts put the total at 14 students and staff; municipal officials are still reconciling the discrepancy as they investigate the incident.

School staff had cleaned a classroom early in the morning, and the room remained closed afterward, allowing vapors to build, according to officials familiar with the scene. Neighbors and school families in the Independencia neighborhood reported that the school sits near the intersection of Río Mocorito and Francisco Javier Mina streets, where first responders converged just before the school day began. Reported symptoms among those affected include dizziness, severe headaches, eye and throat irritation and nausea. Officials said none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

Firefighters, Red Cross paramedics and State Civil Protection officers responded, treated several people on-site and transported others to local medical facilities for evaluation. Firefighter Chief Ruben Dario Osuna described the scene and the department's initial actions: “The cleaning was done very early, around six in the morning, with a highly concentrated cleaning product. When the firefighters arrived, they still found strong odors. The entire classroom had to be ventilated. We are investigating what happened.”

Classes at the school were suspended as a precaution while crews ventilated the affected classroom and State Civil Protection officers inspected the products used and the building’s safety. School officials have not released product names or hospital destinations; authorities say they will update parents once the investigation identifies the chemical agents and whether safety protocols were followed.

The episode underscores wider public health and policy questions for Yuma County and border communities: what training and protective equipment are provided to custodial staff, how cleaning products are stored and labeled in schools, and how rapidly families receive transparent information after exposures. Similar past incidents have led to large-scale evacuations and hospital evaluations when concentrated cleaning agents or oven-cleaning solutions released fumes in school buildings.

For parents and caregivers in Mexicali, expect formal notices from the school district and municipal agencies detailing the official count, medical outcomes and any recommended testing or follow-up care. State Civil Protection’s inspection report and the fire department’s incident log will be central to determining whether this was an accidental concentration of vapors or a preventable lapse in protocol. The community will be watching for concrete steps to prevent future exposures and to ensure that cleaning practices do not jeopardize student and staff health.