25 students treated for heat exhaustion on Lehigh Sr. High School football field

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The Tice Fire Department treated 25 students for heat exhaustion on the Lehigh Senior High School football field.

Firefighters arrived on the scene at around 9:30 a.m. on Friday to assess the severity of the situation, which they classified as a Level 3 mass causality incident.

According to the Lee County School District, an outdoor JROTC ceremony related to Veterans Day was being held when 25 students started feeling symptoms of heat exhaustion.

A total of three students passed out due to the heat.

They are stable after receiving treatment from EMS.

Out of an abundance of caution, the district called the fire department to treat the students.

One student was transported to a local hospital due to an unrelated medical issue.

Another student was transported to a local hospital to be treated for heat-related concerns.

On scene, WINK crews witnessed multiple Lehigh Acres firetrucks and Lee EMS trucks parked outside of the high school.

The conditions of the transported students remains unknown.

The remaining students either returned indoors for class or were taken home by their parents.

WINK News reporter Valentina LaFranca spoke with a student who witnessed the scene.

“We were standing there for about a good, I’d say, hour, and that’s when everything was happening,” said JROTC cadet Pablo Lopez. “I just seen one go down. It was like a domino effect, one after another. “

Lopez was not among the 25 students to be seen by EMS, but he took part in the event.

“I wasn’t really as affected by it, but I was like, wow, shocked when I seen other people getting affected by it,” said Lopez. “The principal gave an announcement saying that the teachers to allow us to go on our phones and tell the parents that we’re all OK.”

Another cadet, Fredwin Beauplan, is grateful.

“I’ll pray for whoever it happened to,” said Beauplan.

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