CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Things got a little heated at an elementary school in Cedar Rapids on Monday. Literally.

A compressor malfunction and boiler system failure over the weekend are being blamed for soaring temperatures inside Pierce Elementary School in northeast Cedar Rapids on Monday.

A letter to parents said all students were safe, but one father told Iowa’s News Now one of his children threw up at school because of the heat.

Brian Myers contacted Iowa’s News Now Monday after he said his son vomited at Pierce Elementary because of the heat inside Monday.

“The medical staff at Pierce Elementary made the comment that ‘we know why she threw up. You still have to come pick it up, but we sit at 120 in our own building,” Myers said.

Myers went to pick up both of her children.

“I can feel the heat in the building right through the door,” Myers said.

He said he can see signs of work to cool things down as well. The school said it was keeping its doors open, fans running and air conditioners blasting Monday to bring temperatures inside the school back to normal.

Myers claims it took far too long to hear from the school in the first place.

“For them to not respond or have anything to say until probably four and a half hours after the kids arrive at school, that shouldn’t have waited four hours,” Myers said.

Now, it is an expectation that all temperatures will cool.

Iowa’s News Now reached out to the Cedar Rapids Community School District Monday afternoon to get confirmation on how hot it got in the building, what they are doing to fix it and how long it could take.

We’re still waiting for answers, but here’s a look at what the district said in its letter to parents Monday:

“We want to update you all on a situation that occurred today at Pierce Elementary regarding an elevated temperature in the building. Please be assured that all students are safe,” the CRCSD letter said.

“This morning, upon noticing the higher than normal temperature, the school principal immediately contacted our district operations team, who responded quickly. They took prompt action by turning off boilers and improving air flow with fans, window air conditioning units and open doors. temperatures are already falling, it may take some time for the building to cool down to normal temperatures due to heat retention in the walls and bricks. We are actively monitoring the situation.

The increase in temperature was caused by a mechanical problem that occurred over the weekend, specifically a compressor failure and a boiler system failure. We understand that this may cause inconvenience to many and greatly appreciate your patience and understanding while we resolve this issue.”