Two children endured burn injuries at a Massachusetts playground after a hazardous chemical was poured down three slides, per Insider.
Emergency dispatchers were called to two residential addresses on reports of two children suffering from burns. According to one of the mothers,
“There was a ‘sizeable puddle’ at the bottom of the slide,”
she wrote in a public Facebook group. Initially, she believed it was just rainwater but after her toddler came down the slide,
“she started crying and saying, ‘Mommy, it hurts, it hurts,’”
she told WBZ News.
Officials identified the substance on the playground as muriatic acid, also called hydrochloric acid,
“a colorless, corrosive, nonflammable gas that fumes in the air”
and can cause
“severe chemical burn, blindness, and respiratory irritation,”
the CDC reports. Longmeadow firefighters and police were notified about a
“suspicious substance”
on the playground on Sunday morning. They have since removed and sterilized the playground of any chemical elements, but have kept the park closed as of Monday, according to a press release.
Investigators revealed that someone had broken into the pump room in the basement of a pool building, which is where the acid had come from. Investigators also discovered an open ventilation shaft. They said the suspect had to climb over two fences before entering the ventilation shaft.
“A great deal of effort was employed to enter this space,”
the fire department said. A suspect has not been detained as of yet. Police urge anyone with information to contact the detective bureau.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
