Potential Chemical Exposure Reported At Grace College
January 22, 2022 at 3:03 a.m.
Potential Chemical Exposure Reported At Grace College
By David [email protected]
By about 9 p.m., those students and staff who were in the building but not in the third-floor lab where the incident took place were being released after they were checked out and watched for a period of time, according to Winona Lake Fire Department Public Information Officer Mike Cox.
In information provided about an hour earlier, Cox said they didn’t have exact numbers as to how many students were being checked out by medics.
“We’ve got a lot of people coming in here that were, maybe not directly, exposed, and we’re trying to keep everyone segregated so numbers right now is impossible,” he said.
Cox estimated the incident occurred around 4 or 4:30 p.m. but they weren’t sure and had to check times.
“Dispatch apparently received a call from the physical plant, which is their maintenance segment, then activated us to come out,” he said, adding that he wasn’t aware at that time as to how maintenance became aware of it. The call from dispatch was put out to the WLFD at about 6:50 p.m.
Asked what kind of chemical or chemicals were involved, Cox said, “We have a list and I can’t give that to you right now because I’m not sure and we want to make sure before we give anything like that out.”
He also was unable to say if the potential exposure was limited to a room or if it got into the building’s HVAC system.
“We’re still gathering information and we have a lot of people to talk to,” Cox said.
The Elkhart City HAZMAT team arrived on scene at about 8:15 p.m.
“It’s going to go on for a while,” he said about the investigation. “Because we’ve got to get people checked out and make sure that nobody is bad, make sure that we’ve got everybody.”
He said it was “too early to tell” if anyone was severely affected.
“Sometimes chemicals aren’t immediate,” Cox said. “Right now, I don’t know the chemicals and I wouldn’t hazard a guess. It’s not my expertise.”
Also on scene were members of the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, Warsaw and Winona Lake Police Departments, Grace Campus Security and Lutheran EMS.
“Right now, I know they are going to check the room out for fumes. They’re getting the HAZMAT suits. When the HAZMAT team gets here, they’ll probably go in. That’s up to them,” Cox said prior to the Elkhart team arriving.
Cox, at that point, didn’t know exactly what room the possible chemical exposure may have occurred in. He also couldn’t say if it was a chemical spill or two chemicals being mixed together that shouldn’t have been. He didn’t know if the chemicals were flammable or how toxic they were.
“Because of the isolation, I haven’t been able to talk to them right now,” he said.
All students and staff were out of the building while the investigation was ongoing. A Grace bus at the scene had at least 16 students sitting inside it.
“It’s one of those where we may not have all the answers until we’re all done here,” Cox said.
The No. 1 priority was the safety of the students and staff, he said. “We want to make sure we do everything right so they’re safe.”
Grace College Executive Vice President Dr. Drew Flamm said, “The safety of our students is a priority and we want to care for our students well.”
The Dr. Dane A. Miller Science Complex houses new and updated classrooms and laboratories for the Grace College Department of Science and Mathematics, including Grace’s first classroom-in-the-round, according to the college’s website. The Complex officially opened on Oct. 5, 2018.
By about 9 p.m., those students and staff who were in the building but not in the third-floor lab where the incident took place were being released after they were checked out and watched for a period of time, according to Winona Lake Fire Department Public Information Officer Mike Cox.
In information provided about an hour earlier, Cox said they didn’t have exact numbers as to how many students were being checked out by medics.
“We’ve got a lot of people coming in here that were, maybe not directly, exposed, and we’re trying to keep everyone segregated so numbers right now is impossible,” he said.
Cox estimated the incident occurred around 4 or 4:30 p.m. but they weren’t sure and had to check times.
“Dispatch apparently received a call from the physical plant, which is their maintenance segment, then activated us to come out,” he said, adding that he wasn’t aware at that time as to how maintenance became aware of it. The call from dispatch was put out to the WLFD at about 6:50 p.m.
Asked what kind of chemical or chemicals were involved, Cox said, “We have a list and I can’t give that to you right now because I’m not sure and we want to make sure before we give anything like that out.”
He also was unable to say if the potential exposure was limited to a room or if it got into the building’s HVAC system.
“We’re still gathering information and we have a lot of people to talk to,” Cox said.
The Elkhart City HAZMAT team arrived on scene at about 8:15 p.m.
“It’s going to go on for a while,” he said about the investigation. “Because we’ve got to get people checked out and make sure that nobody is bad, make sure that we’ve got everybody.”
He said it was “too early to tell” if anyone was severely affected.
“Sometimes chemicals aren’t immediate,” Cox said. “Right now, I don’t know the chemicals and I wouldn’t hazard a guess. It’s not my expertise.”
Also on scene were members of the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, Warsaw and Winona Lake Police Departments, Grace Campus Security and Lutheran EMS.
“Right now, I know they are going to check the room out for fumes. They’re getting the HAZMAT suits. When the HAZMAT team gets here, they’ll probably go in. That’s up to them,” Cox said prior to the Elkhart team arriving.
Cox, at that point, didn’t know exactly what room the possible chemical exposure may have occurred in. He also couldn’t say if it was a chemical spill or two chemicals being mixed together that shouldn’t have been. He didn’t know if the chemicals were flammable or how toxic they were.
“Because of the isolation, I haven’t been able to talk to them right now,” he said.
All students and staff were out of the building while the investigation was ongoing. A Grace bus at the scene had at least 16 students sitting inside it.
“It’s one of those where we may not have all the answers until we’re all done here,” Cox said.
The No. 1 priority was the safety of the students and staff, he said. “We want to make sure we do everything right so they’re safe.”
Grace College Executive Vice President Dr. Drew Flamm said, “The safety of our students is a priority and we want to care for our students well.”
The Dr. Dane A. Miller Science Complex houses new and updated classrooms and laboratories for the Grace College Department of Science and Mathematics, including Grace’s first classroom-in-the-round, according to the college’s website. The Complex officially opened on Oct. 5, 2018.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092