Firefighters and police in Denver this morning responded to a report of a “chemical explosion” at a school.
Denver fire Lt. Phil Champagne said at the scene that during a chemistry class experiment for juniors, there was a “strong chemical reaction” with vapors and fumes but no explosion.
Ten students and two teachers were in the room at the time.
Six were evaluated by paramedics at the scene, treated and released. They all went back to class.
The incident happened just before 9 a.m. at the Denver Waldorf School, 940 Fillmore St. The private school has about 290 students in pre-K through 12th grade. It is in central Denver in the Congress Park neighborhood just east of the botanic gardens.
The Denver Fire Department responded with a full hazmat team.
“We wanted to err on the side of caution,” Champagne said. “We realized it was a relatively minor incident,” he added.
The teacher was combining 0.5 grams of sodium hydroxide with water, and it created a chemical reaction. Champagne said it produced a product similar to Drano, which is toxic and corrosive.
Principal Judy Lucas said, “Always, the safety of the kids is the highest priority for the school.”
The teacher had tested the experiment before class, she said, with no problems.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
