On the morning of November 19, 2025, the city of Babol in Iran was shaken by a distressing incident: a leak in a girls' school heating system led to carbon monoxide poisoning among several students. Emergency teams, including three ambulances and two motorlances, rushed to the scene as students began showing alarming symptoms—respiratory distress, dizziness, and nausea. The affected girls were quickly transferred to local medical centers, where they remain under observation and clinical evaluation, according to the initial reports. This event, however, is not an isolated case. Just days prior, a similar poisoning had occurred in Shahriar, raising the stakes and intensifying public concern over the safety of Iran's educational facilities.
While these incidents might seem like tragic flukes, their recurrence points to a deeper systemic problem. Despite Iran's status as one of the world's wealthiest nations in terms of oil and gas reserves, essential public services such as school safety, healthcare, and education often fall by the wayside. As highlighted by local sources, "the repeated occurrence of such incidents is not the result of resource shortages but a direct consequence of systemic mismanagement and entrenched corruption within the ruling establishment." Instead of investing in the safety and well-being of its youth, Iran's vast natural resources are reportedly diverted toward the interests of political elites, suppression of dissent, and the export of militant activities across the region. Parents and teachers are left to grapple with the consequences, while students bear the brunt of this neglect.
But Iran is not alone in facing the dangers of carbon monoxide in schools. A shocking parallel can be drawn to Scotland, where East Dunbartonshire Council is currently facing nearly 30 damages claims from families after a carbon monoxide leak at Balmuildy Primary School in Bishopbriggs in February 2020. Earlier this year, the council was fined in criminal court after admitting to breaches in health and safety at the school. The BBC reports that, despite the council's claims of a "rigorous safety monitoring regime," parents remain deeply concerned about the long-term impact on their children.
The details of the Scottish case are harrowing. According to BBC Scotland, on February 19, 2020, 35 pupils and four staff members—most located in the school's tower building—complained of headaches, nausea, and sickness. One mother, speaking anonymously through Thompsons Solicitors, described the scene as "like something from a zombie film—youngsters vomiting, fainting and some lying on the floor sleeping." She recounted weeks of her children feeling extremely unwell after school, only to recover once home. "They sat in a building inhaling fatal levels of carbon monoxide which we have been told but for 'sheer luck' there was no fatalities due to the high level of CO detected," she told the BBC. The sense of parental guilt was palpable: "Now as parents we are left with a feeling of guilt for not realising what was happening sooner and putting our children continuously in a place of danger. More concerningly now is not knowing the long-term side effects of this prolonged exposure."
Another mother recounted taking her son to hospital after he complained of sickness, headaches, and dizziness. "He had blood taken and got told his symptoms were a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, but by this point it was starting to leave his system. This could have been serious for my son, as well as for the other children and the staff at the school. My son still suffers from headaches as a result of his exposure and the fact that it wasn't properly checked shows the incompetence of the council," she said.
The families affected claim they were kept in the dark about what happened leading up to the school’s evacuation. While the council insists that parents were kept regularly updated via text messages, emails, website updates, and a public meeting, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report obtained by the BBC under freedom of information laws paints a more troubling picture. The report revealed that initial tests at Balmuildy Primary checked for a gas leak, not carbon monoxide. It was only after a teacher brought in a domestic CO detector—given to her by her father—that the presence of carbon monoxide was confirmed. More monitors were purchased and also sounded alarms. When the Scottish Gas Network was called, the engineer's body-worn detector immediately went off, and the school was evacuated.
The investigation by HSE gas safety experts found that one of the boilers in the plant room was leaking carbon monoxide, and an open, unsealed access hatch for a pipework service duct provided a pathway for the gas to spread throughout the school. Paperwork revealed that the boilers at Balmuildy had last been tested in 2018, with an earlier service in 2017. Crucially, no gas safe certificate was provided for the school. Even more alarming, of the council's 43 schools, 12 had gone as long as six years without an inspection, and records for another 10 could not be found at all. The HSE report concluded that "extensive repairs" were needed in some school boilers after all the safety checks, suggesting a "systemic failure to manage the ongoing repair and inspection program in a suitable and sufficient manner."
Patrick McGuire, senior partner at Thompsons Solicitors, summed up the frustration of the families: "We are talking about some of the most basic checks that you or I would do on our gas boilers to make sure our own homes are safe. The families just want the truth and it is a sad state of affairs that they have had to come to Thompsons to try and get a straight answer from the council, but the council appears to not want to deal with this in an open and transparent way."
In the aftermath, East Dunbartonshire Council claims to have implemented a system that automatically flags when work or statutory testing is required. Ann Davie, the council's chief executive, emphasized, "As soon as it was brought to our attention the gas boiler was decommissioned, the HSE was contacted along with other relevant external agencies. As a result, comprehensive measures were put in place to ensure the safety of all staff and pupils. Arrangements across our school estate were checked in the immediate aftermath and the council has a rigorous monitoring regime in place. The council does not comment on ongoing litigation matters."
Back in Iran, meanwhile, the pattern of neglect continues. The recurrence of carbon monoxide poisoning incidents in schools—despite abundant natural resources—points to failures not of poverty, but of governance. The echoes between Babol and Bishopbriggs are unmistakable: children exposed to invisible danger, families left searching for answers, and authorities scrambling to reassure the public after the fact.
Whether in the bustling cities of Iran or the quiet suburbs of Scotland, the lesson is clear. When basic safety checks are ignored or accountability is lacking, it is often the most vulnerable—children in schools—who pay the heaviest price. For parents and communities everywhere, the hope remains that these tragedies will finally prompt meaningful change, ensuring that no child is left to breathe danger where they should be learning and growing.
