A science experiment that went wrong sent 21 students from Holy Child Jesus Catholic Academy in Richmond Hill to area hospitals earlier Thursday morning after fumes filled a chemistry lab, officials said.
The students at the pre-K to 8 school were sent for medical treatment at area hospitals as a precaution and any injuries were reported as minor, according to the FDNY.
The emergency call came in from the school, located at 111-02 86th Ave., to the FDNY at about 9:40 a.m. Fire dispatchers immediately deployed a hazmat unit and emergency medical services to the school.
According to a statement on the school’s website posted by a school official this afternoon: “During class 6-1’s science class, smoke and fumes resulted from an experiment. As a precaution, 21 students were taken to two local hospitals.” The students were currently being released to their parents from those hospitals.
The statement also said that “the teacher immediately evacuated the room and, as a precaution, all students in the old school were relocated to the gymnasium.”
School officials noted that the FDNY and EMS later cleared the room and the building was declared safe. The school continued with its regular dismissal time and after-school activities were not affected.
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