It is mind blowing how quickly the incidents have started back up after a break during COVID.

Rob - Please add this one to the page on your site.
S-

Chemistry demonstration gone wrong caused Dinwiddie school fire
https://www.nbc12.com/2022/10/19/student-remains-hospitalized-after-dinwiddie-school-fire/

DINWIDDIE, Va. (WWBT) - One of the students injured in a fire at a Dinwiddie High School is still in the hospital, officials said on Wednesday.

Two of those injured and taken to the hospital have been released.

A week after that fiery chemistry explosion, Dinwiddie County Public School Leader and Dinwiddie Fire & EMS held a press conference to discuss the initial finding of their investigation into what went wrong with the chemistry experiment.

“19 families sent their young people to school not knowing that the young people they sent to school would be very different than the young people who came home, Said Superintendent Dr. Kari Weston.

According to Dinwiddie Fire & EMS Chief Dennis Hale, the experiment conducted was known as the flammable liquid demonstration involving methanol.

During the demonstration, the instructor will pour methanol from a jug into an open-face beaker and water. From there, the mixture is ignited, in this case, using a smoldering wooden splint.

“A very pale blue flame that would have pretty much been invisible in the classroom lighting,” Chief Hale said.

Hale says the experiment was performed the first time successfully by the instructor, but on the second attempt, vapor from the first demonstration remained in the air and caused a “flame jetting” traveling diagonally across the room about 10 feet until it reached a whiteboard.

“All four students who were injured were directly in the path of that fire that would have traveled to the mouth of the jug in a straight line,” Hal said.

Dinwiddie Fire and EMS say the entire incident would have occurred in a matter of seconds. The firey chain reaction occurred around 9:20 a.m., with crews responding to the school just before 9:30 a.m after their first call. Hale says when crews arrived, the fire was already put out.

Dinwiddie Fire & EMS says that all physical evidence from the chemistry demonstration gone wrong has been collected and processed at this time.

The school division is also investigating whether any other safety protocols were during the experiment.

“In this specific incident, the teacher and students reported that there was no protective equipment used during this demonstration,” Weston said.

Weston says there were 19 students in the classroom when that firey chain reaction happened. While the extent of the injuries is still unknown per the families’ request, two of them have been released from the hospital, while another student remains hospitalized.

(more at URL above)

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