WBRZ - Baton Rouge

SCOTLANDVILLE - Parents said they were frightened to hear a gas leak closed their children's school today in north Baton Rouge.

Lucille McKnight said she received a phone call about 10:30 a.m. Friday with a recorded message from Crestworth Elementary telling her there was a gas leak, and parents needed to come pick up their children.

"That's scary, you know," McKnight said. "A chemical leak, kids, you know, it's bad."

Three schools, including J. K. Haynes Elementary Charter and Crestworth Learning Academy, closed as a result of the smell. The Greater King David Senior Center also shut its doors.

Residents began reporting a "chemical smell" in the area around 8:30 Thursday night, according to Entergy. After multiple checks throughout the day, the Department of Environmental Quality said the air is fine.

"The wind directions, we can say it was coming from a certain direction," said DEQ Communications Director Rodney Mallett. "That could be a variety of different sources."

The Baton Rouge Fire Department also made multiple laps around the neighborhood searching for the source of the smell, but didn't find anything.

DEQ will continue to monitor the air throughout the weekend.