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A carbon monoxide leak at a Riverdale Park church sent 13 people to the hospital on Saturday evening, according to Prince George's County fire authorities.

Three children were among the 13 hospitalized from Saint Bernard's church at 5700 St. Bernard Drive. They experienced dizziness, nauseous and lightheadedness, and were likely given oxygen in the hospital and released, Prince George's County Fire/EMS spokesman Mark Brady said.

Paramedics and firefighters arrived at about 6:30 p.m. and began treating patients when they realized the symptoms were tell-tale signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, Brady said.

Officials measured the level of carbon monoxide in the air at 1,300 parts per million. A normal amount in the air is between 0 and 30 parts per million, "and it starts becoming unhealthy past 30," Brady said.

Brady said church officials reported on the scene that the building's boiler had been worked on the same day as the incident. Brady said the problem likely lies with the boiler, although a certified technician, who has to inspect the building, will find the official cause of the problem.

Church officials cancelled Sunday service, but reopened the church for use on Tuesday after an inspector cleared the building, Father Sergio Dallagnese.

Saint Bernard's also has a kindergarten through eighth-grade school. It sits nearly 500 feet away and was unaffected by the gas leak, Dallagnese said.

E-mail Elahe Izadi at eizadi@gazette.net.