Chlorine exposure sent six young children to the hospital and about 20 in all had to be treated, the Forsyth County Fire Department said.
The incident occurred in Cumming at an indoor pool facility at SwimAtlanta, a swim instruction company with several locations throughout metro Atlanta. The affected pool was a small teaching pool, which is primarily used by young children.
The Forsyth fire department responded to a 4:45 p.m. call to 911 alerting them of “multiple children falling ill in one of the pools due to a chlorine exposure.” The event was treated by the fire department as a hazardous materials incident and a mass casualty incident.
“Initial medical reactions from the affected children included vomiting, trouble breathing and burning in the eyes,” FCFD Division Chief Jason Shivers said.
About 20 children of varying ages were triaged, assessed, rinsed off and treated. Several adults were as well.
At least six children were transported to the hospital, four by ambulance and two by their parents; most are younger than 10, the fire department said.
Authorities and the staff of SwimAtlanta are not sure what happened.
“We’ve been around for 45 years, and we’ve never had anything like this ever happen in any of our pools,” said Chris Davis, a senior coach at SwimAtlanta.
Davis works at the Sugarloaf Parkway location. He was not in Cumming when the incident happened, but he wanted to speak with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution because the staffers present on Wednesday are still “unnerved” by the events of the day.
“We’re in the business to help children,” Davis said. “We’re trying to teach them to swim so they won’t drown, and then we’re trying to help other ones to realize their potential if they want to be a competitive swimmer. The last thing we’d never want to do is hurt a child.”
Reports from staff and authorities indicate that “a large amount of chlorine had been accidentally introduced into one of the pools in a very concentrated and quick manner, thus exposing those in the water to an abnormally high chlorine concentration,” according to the fire department.
“The air also had an elevated chlorine level adding to the chemical irritation for those affected,” Shivers said.
People in nearby businesses were ordered to shelter in place for the duration of the incident, but “no other businesses or buildings had any direct exposure or impact aside from the inconvenience factor,” the fire department said.
The Forsyth County Department of Environmental Health has cleared SwimAtlanta in Cumming to resume operations in their primary pool while the smaller teaching pool remains closed.
Davis said SwimAtlanta patrons and parents have been patient and supportive.
“I don’t know if I would be as understanding as they’ve been,” he said. “They’ve been wonderful.”
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