Adkins said that the family told him they had put chlorine in the pool the night before and had failed to put the lid back on the bucket. During the day, heavy rains fell into the bucket and apparently activated the chlorine. When they came home the chemicals were bubbling in the bucket and there was an extremely strong odor.
Chief Adkins said that he called poison control to get advice on what to do with the chlorine and was told to dilute the chlorine as much as possible, making sure that it was away from any water sources where it might run off and contaminate.
The firemen put on breathing apparatus and their full gear and carried the bucket into the middle of a nearby pasture, away from anything. Adkins said they used approximately 300 gallons of water to spray down the chlorine. After hosing it down, there was about a three inch thick solid chunk of material left inside the bucket, which Adkins said did not emit any type of odor.
After determining that the odor was all clear, they discussed what to do with the bucket and remaining contents. The homeowner said that he would take it to the landfill and find out what to do with it, since the firemen said he probably should not try to use the rest of it for treating his pool. The lid was put back on the bucket and the firemen began taking off their gear.
Several minutes later, while preparing his report, Adkins said that fireman Robert McKenzie of Freedom Creek Road, went to check on the bucket, and while he was right next to it, it exploded. “It went off like a bomb,” said Adkins. “There was this plume of white stuff in the air and parts of the bucket flew everywhere.”
McKenzie was struck in the face, chest and on the arms by fragments of the bucket. He received lacerations to his upper lip and chin as well as bruising to his arms and chest area. “His shirt was shredded,” said Adkins. After being struck, McKenzie closed his eyes and tried to hold his breath until he got clear of the fumes.
Being an EMT and First Responder, Adkins quickly got out his medical gear, and flushed out McKenzie’s eyes and hosed him off with a solution. “There was a lot of bleeding,” said Adkins, “But he was breathing o.k.” As they treated McKenzie at the scene to try to stop the bleeding and make sure that his vital signs were alright, they called for Southwest EMS to respond at about 8:00 p.m.
I can't get nothing right; I kick the bucket, then I get hurt.
The scabs from the chemical burn sloughed off in a couple of days. There's nice pink skin in it's place. Where the shard punctured my cheekbone and sinuses felt like a tooth ache that went from my eye down to my right incisor when the codine ran out.
It's been 6 days and the stitches were taken out today. The plastic surgeon said the fracture and sinus would heal o.k. by themselves. The corrective surgery would be more traumatic than the injury.
Channel 40/29 ran a public service spot about the accident today on their 5 & 6 o'Clock news.
Folks the main point here is that if you get your swimming pool Chlorine wet, don't reseal the container. Double bag it in trash bags to contain the vapors some and tie or tape the top. Call for help. The hydrogen from the water and Chlorine bond to form HydroChloric acid. The Chlorine crystals dissolved in the water sink to the bottom and recrystalize. That's what wouldn't wash out of the bucket. The water stripped of it's Hydrogen is just Oxygen (O^2). I think the explosive potential comes from the heat given off during the chemical exchanges.
...NorthWest 11, 10-8 & 10-10
