A teacher and six pupils from Quinton’s Four Dwellings School are being checked over in hospital as a precaution after a ‘small chemical incident’ in a classroom this morning.
West Midlands Fire (WMFS) and West Midlands Ambulance Services (WMAS) – including the Hazardous Area Response Team – were called to the school in Dwellings Lane at around 10am this morning (Wednesday 10th May).
WMFS firefighters wearing breathing apparatus attended and ventilated the room.
A WMAS spokesman said that the seven were assessed by ambulance staff after being exposed to the chemical Bromine. No other pupils in the classroom were affected.
He confirmed that their condition was not serious and that the chemical had been isolated and there was no further risk. He said: “As a precaution, the teenagers were taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the teacher to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham – their condition is not believed serious.”
A statement from Four Dwellings Academy reads:
At 9.45 am today a year 10 student inadvertently and mistakenly opened a bottle of bromine water during a science lesson, a substance which can cause breathing difficulties and irritation if it comes into contact with skin.
The laboratory was immediately evacuated and emergency services were called to the site as a precaution. The safety and welfare of our students and staff is our number one concern at all times.
We can confirm that six students were driven by minibus to Birmingham Children’s Hospital as a precaution for medical checks. They were displaying no symptoms of any illness and have now been discharged from the hospital all fit and well.
There was no impact on the rest of the school day and lessons continued as normal.
Cover image by WMAS