CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A faulty pump allowed for "more than normal" pool chemical to enter the pumping system at the Harpers Mill neighborhood community pool this week sickening some children and prompting a large emergency response, according to the Chesterfield Fire Marshal’s preliminary report.
"Chesterfield Fire and EMS personnel used clean water to rinse everyone who had been in the pool to ensure decontamination," Lt. Kenny Mitchell wrote in an email about the June 15 incident. "Five patients were transported to local hospitals via ambulance and 11 individuals self-transported to local hospitals."
An additional 25 to 30 kids were checked out on the scene by emergency crews.
No serious injuries were reported.
Multiple emergency crews were called to the 8600 block of Pullman Lane, off Otterdale Road, at about 11 a.m. that day after reports of a weird smell in the pool.
"We were just at the pool. [Her son] was swimming in the deep end and my daughter and I were having a snack on the chairs. And there was just a big surge of everybody jumping out of the pool and coughing and gagging and just a smell of, you know, chemical," Libbie Reeves, who was at the pool with her children, said ."A lot of kids jumped out and just a strong chemical smell in the air."
The fire marshal’s office said it did not appear anyone working at the pool that day did anything improper.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
