PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- More than 40 kids were sent to the hospital after a hazardous chemical spilled inside a classroom at Port Charlotte Adventist School.
23 kids were treated at Fawcett Memorial Hospital and have been discharged. 20 more kids were treated at Bayfront Health Hospital and were released.
One parent outside the emergency room said she was worried for her child’s safety. "It's just a parent’s instinct, you’re just worried, pray to God everything is okay,” said parent, Tamara.
Tamara said she got a text message from the school saying there’s been a serious incident. She immediately left work to grab her daughter. Her daughter, Sarah is in kindergarten at the school. “It was kind of scary, the chemicals spilled on my other teacher,” said Sarah.
At around 1:45 Wednesday afternoon, the Charlotte County Fire and EMS got called to the school after hydrochloric acid spilled in one of the classrooms.
“Turns out, it was in a closest. The school was cleaning out and they spilled a chemical,” said Todd Dunn, the Public Information Manager for the Charlotte County Fire and EMS.
The spill happened inside a science lab with more than 30 kids in the room.
With having that chemical on hand at schools, authorities said it can be dangerous when there’s a spill. “It can cause respiratory problems and when it spilled, they did have a smoking issue so that’s why the school took it seriously and cleared everyone out at that time,” said Dunn.
Students and staff were immediately evacuated, and the HAZMAT team went in to clean it up.
43 kids were sent to nearby hospital after complaining of symptoms.
The school sent out a statement saying kids were transported as a precaution to ensure their safety.
“The school did a wonderful job, they made sure the children were okay,” said Tamara.
The school is now safe to re-enter, and classes will resume Thursday morning for all students kindergarten through 10 grade.
