Students Treated After Breathing Toxic Fumes

SIMI VALLEY — More than two dozen children from the private Pinecrest School were treated at two hospitals Friday after a toxic chemical cloud wafted over the school’s pool during a swimming class.

The poisonous gas was released shortly after 11 a.m. when a maintenance employee at the preschool and academy on Cochran Street accidentally combined chlorine with pool acid, officials said.

The vapor almost immediately caused breathing problems and vomiting among the 28 boys and girls who had assembled at poolside after their swimming instruction.

Three school employees also were affected.

Although the victims apparently suffered only minor injuries, officials warned parents to watch the children closely for any lingering respiratory problems.

Exposure to the toxic vapor could lead to respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia, officials said.

Officials said the children, ages 5 through 10, panicked on smelling the noxious gas and ran through the cloud in an effort to escape.

“The kids were scared and ran through the vapor twice,” said Sandi Wells, a spokeswoman for the Ventura County Fire Department. “They didn’t know why their eyes were irritated or why they were coughing.”

All the victims were released from hospitals by the end of the day.