Fire in Chemistry Lab Cancels Classes & Sends Students Home

wwnytv.com

After a fire at a science lab on Friday February 10th, class at SUNY Canton were cancelled until Monday February 20th. Black smoke was seen coming from Cook Hall, which caused the campus to be closed and activities cancelled. Significant damaged was caused to the lab. No one was injured in the fire; however, and currently the cause of the fire is unknown. 

Two stories are available BELOW, both with video.

Building Evacuated - One Injured

From: The Daily Cardinal

www.chemicallabels.com/

Biochemistry building evacuated, one injured after chemical spill
A hazardous materials crew, police officers, ambulances and fire trucks responded to a chemical spill in a UW-Madison biochemistry laboratory after a graduate student spilled a highly flammable solvent, injuring one person.

According to a graduate student in the Biochemistry building, the student spilled about 40 liters of tetrahydrofuran (THF), a chemical that can dissolve a wide range of materials including latex gloves, flooring and other plastics, in the Ronald Raines laboratory between 10:15 and 10:45 a.m.

4 Students Burned at Junior High

By: CBS Minnesota

My Fox 9

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (WCCO) — Four students were transported to the Hennepin County Medical Center for burns after a methanol experiment blew up at Maple Grove Junior High. All the students, ninth graders, are currently in satisfactory condition. The experiment was being conducted by their ninth grade science teacher. Authorities say he was performing an experiment with a flammable liquid when the accident happened. It is not clear if the students suffered chemical burns or were burned by fire.

A fifteen-year-old got the worst of it and was still being treated at HCMC Thursday afternoon. “My face was actually on fire,” he said. 

Picric Acid Leads to Evacuation at School

By: Hilary Lane WKTV

Photo Credit HERE.

WATERVILLE, N.Y. (WKTV) - Students and staff members at Waterville Junior and Senior High School were evacuated a little after Noon on Thursday the New York State Police Bomb Disposal Unit out of Albany was called in to assess and dispose of some potentially hazardous chemicals.

"We are concerned about one of the chemicals that is possibly dangerous and could call an explosion," says Gary Lonczak, superintendent of schools. The main issue is a bottle of picric acid which is over 25 years old.

Teen Hospitalized from Science Explosion

By: Meg Alexander KFOR-TV

KFOR-TV

DEL CITY, Okla. -- An eighth grader has burns on her face, neck and hands after a school scientific demonstration went wrong at Kerr Middle School. "We were watching and she put the chemicals in and it exploded and hit me. I remember seeing the fire and I went on the ground and my friends were putting me out."

She's worried about long-term scarring and discoloration. The pain, especially at night, is hard to withstand. Her parents say they don't understand how this happened. Ashley told them they weren't wearing goggles.

Students Poisoned by Pesticides

By: eNews Park Forest!

Greg Lynch, Dayton Daily News

Washington, DC--(ENEWSPF)--October 27, 2011.  Forty-seven students from Edgewood Middle School in St. Clair Township, Ohio, reportedly fell ill after the school’s hired pest control company sprayed the herbicide Momentum, which contains the toxic ingredients 2,4-D, triclopyr and clopyralid, on nearby playing fields to treat for clover and other weeds. The incident and others like it demonstrate the need for a comprehensive national policy to protect children from harmful and unnecessary exposure to toxic chemicals. Six students were taken to nearby hospitals and twenty-one students total were treated for symptoms, including headaches, breathing difficulties, nausea and dizziness.

Texas Tech Building Evacuated After 2nd Explosion

By: Adam D. Young; Lubbock Avalanche-Journal 

Stephen Spillman

The second chemical explosion in two weeks at Texas Tech prompted campus officials to evacuate an engineering building late Thursday.

Nobody was injured or contaminated after what Tech spokesman Chris Cook called a small explosion about 7:15 p.m. in a laboratory in the Engineering and Technology Lab off the school’s engineering key at Canton Avenue and Glenna Goodacre Boulevard.

6 Students Injured in Chemistry Lab

By: Nancy McCleary

Staff photo by Amanda Berg

Six students were treated for injuries after a chemistry experiment at E.E. Smith High School went awry Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Three of the students were taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, said Theresa Perry, a school system spokeswoman. Two were being treated for minor burns, she said. The third student and three others who were tended to at the school had respiratory-related issues, said Ron Lewis, a battalion commander with the Fayetteville Fire Department.

NH High School Evacuated After Chemical Spill

From: Associated Press

Photo: AP

EXETER, N.H. -- A New Hampshire high school had to be evacuated after a chemical spill that sent three staff members to the hospital. No students were injured. Classes were cancelled at the Exeter High School at about noon on Tuesday after the chemical was discovered near the school's loading dock.

Itching Powder Causes Scare at School

By: news-press.com
Apr. 8, 2011

The Fort Myers Fire Department is at Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School responding to a possible hazmat situation.

Firetrucks and ambulances are on scene and the school is currently on lockdown. The nature of the incident is unknown at this time.

UPDATE:
The school is no longer on lockdown.

Lee County EMS Chief of Operations Scott Tuttle said a student brought itching powder into the school. Twelve students and 11 cafeteria workers were affected by the powder.

Lab Fire Washington University, St. Louis

By: Michael Tabb 
Student Life, March 30, 2011

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Three fire departments and at least nine fire trucks respond to a lab mishap with a reaction experiment in an environmental nanochemistry laboratory of Brauer Hall brought at least nine fire trucks to the northeast of campus Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured and, according to fire department officials at the scene, damage was negligible.

UMass: Chemical Spill Shuts Down Goessman Building

By: Jeff Bernstein/Collegian
Collegian News Staff
March 23, 2011

By: Jeff Bernstein

At around 4:00 p.m., Goessman was all cleared by the hazardous materials team, said Thomas O’Regan, emergency management and business continuity manager. The dean and provost will work to finalize the rescheduling of classes in Goessman.

The Goessman laboratory building has been shut down and evacuated after a chemistry department faculty member found a leaking ammonia tank at 10 a.m. this morning, said Daniel Fitzgibbons, associate director of news and media relations at the University of Massachusetts.

Chemical Spill at High School

January 13, 2011

Fire and Hazmat crews were called Thursday morning to Poland Seminary High School for a chemical spill.

Township Police Chief Brian Goodin said someone in a biology lab accidentally spilled a solvent on the floor as they were moving some chemicals around. Around 8:30 a.m., someone was cleaning and knocked over a bottle of Xylene, a clear, colorless liquid that can be very flammable. Students were asked to leave the classroom where the spill was contained, but the building was not evacuated, said township Police Chief Brian Goodin.

Student Causes Chemical Spill During Science Lab

WISTV.com
Dec 08, 2010

WISTV.com

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – Columbia firefighters are on the scene of chemical spill at the University of South Carolina's Graduate Science Research Center on Sumter Street.

Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said a student in one of the labs knocked over and broke a container of a chemical called Tetrahydfuran that was being using for an experiment. Jenkins said Tetrahydfuran can be flammable and cause respiratory problems, and is known to evaporate quickly once exposed to air.

Cleaning Chemicals Improperly Mixed Led to School Closure

By: Kevin MacMillan and Jason Shueh
Sierra Sun
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Photo: Jason Shueh/Sierra Sun

TAHOE CITY, Calif. — A chemical reaction was the probable cause for a cloud of noxious vapors Thursday morning at Tahoe Lake Elementary School that eventually led to the school being shut down prior to students arriving to campus, officials confirmed.

The North Tahoe Fire Protection District received a call at 8:31 a.m. Thursday, said spokesman Dave Zaski, about possible smoke coming from the gymnasium at the school.

Hazardous Chemical Misused in a School

By DAVID SEIFMAN City Hall Bureau Chief nypost.com
October 16, 2010

NY Post: G.N. Miller 

Two students created a scare at a middle school in Brooklyn by pouring a potentially dangerous chemical into the hands of unsuspecting classmates -- leading to a hazmat response that included cops and firefighters, officials disclosed yesterday.

Six students from Seth Low IS 96 in Bensonhurst were taken to Coney Island Hospital as a precaution.

Several others were taken to emergency rooms by their parents after Thursday's incident.