Nineteen people were hospitalized Sunday when a cluster of illnesses at an Anne Arundel County youth academy prompted a mass casualty response, with investigators looking into whether food was to blame.

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department responded to a call from the Capital Guardian Youth Challenge Academy in Laurel around 2:21 p.m. While evaluating a patient, officials realized it was the third call the department had received from the same location in 90 minutes.

The calls were for people experiencing an array of minor symptoms, including lightheadedness. A total of 19 people, adults and minors, reported feeling similar symptoms and were transported to medical centers, elevating the call to a mass casualty response.

Brian Christopher, a spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, said firefighters conducted a carbon monoxide investigation but the gas was not detected.

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The investigation is ongoing, but Christopher said this outbreak of symptoms might be linked to food. All of those experiencing symptoms seemed to have eaten the same thing. He could not say what the food was. Investigators have not determined a definitive cause.

The Capital Guardian Youth Challenge Academy is a military preparatory school run by the District of Columbia National Guard and Office of the State Superintendent of Education for the District of Columbia.

Neither the academy nor the school system immediately responded to requests for comment.