FEBRUARY 24, 2015
BUENA PARK, CALIFORNIA
A man died late Tuesday night after he was exposed to a
mixture of potent pool chemicals at a Buena Park apartment complex, officials
said.
Chang Jun, 67 of Buena Park died around 11 p.m. at UCI Medical Center in Orange, less than four hours after he was found semi-conscious near spilled, yellow liquid inside a garage at the Richmont apartment complex, 6386 Lincoln Ave.
Jun, who lived in the apartment complex and possibly worked as the pool cleaner, may have inhaled toxic fumes from the chemical inside the garage, which caused him to fall unconscious, knocking them over and causing the spill, officials said.
Orange County Fire Authority officials lifted Jun out of a puddle of yellow chemicals, which omitted a yellow gas, and authorities sprayed both Jun and the exposed firefighters with water before cutting off Jun's clothes, OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said.
Jun had severe burns to his back, face and respiratory tract, including his lungs, Concialdi said.
He was taken by Anaheim Fire & Rescue officials to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he later died.
OCFA Hazmat members found several pool-cleaning chemicals, including chlorine and hydrochloric acid, and the team worked for hours to neutralize the chemicals.
"With all pool chemicals we have to make sure they are separated and that they do not mix," OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said. "Some chemicals, when they mix, can be deadly."
Coroner officials had not determined the cause of death Wednesday morning, as they had not completed an autopsy.
Chang Jun, 67 of Buena Park died around 11 p.m. at UCI Medical Center in Orange, less than four hours after he was found semi-conscious near spilled, yellow liquid inside a garage at the Richmont apartment complex, 6386 Lincoln Ave.
Jun, who lived in the apartment complex and possibly worked as the pool cleaner, may have inhaled toxic fumes from the chemical inside the garage, which caused him to fall unconscious, knocking them over and causing the spill, officials said.
Orange County Fire Authority officials lifted Jun out of a puddle of yellow chemicals, which omitted a yellow gas, and authorities sprayed both Jun and the exposed firefighters with water before cutting off Jun's clothes, OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said.
Jun had severe burns to his back, face and respiratory tract, including his lungs, Concialdi said.
He was taken by Anaheim Fire & Rescue officials to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he later died.
OCFA Hazmat members found several pool-cleaning chemicals, including chlorine and hydrochloric acid, and the team worked for hours to neutralize the chemicals.
"With all pool chemicals we have to make sure they are separated and that they do not mix," OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said. "Some chemicals, when they mix, can be deadly."
Coroner officials had not determined the cause of death Wednesday morning, as they had not completed an autopsy.
That is a tragic and unfortunate death. He should never mix these chemicals inside
the garage; only in a well ventilated
area. Certainly, there have been quite a
few incidents where the improper chemicals are mixed, giving off deadly
gases. If this was the case here, then
this poor fellow had no chance: he
collapsed on the floor and he end up burning as well form the chemicals (acids
and bases, mostly)
//-----------------------------------------------------//
BUENA PARK MAN IN
CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER INHALING POOL CLEANER CHEMICALS OUTSIDE APARTMENT
COMPLEX
FEBRUARY. 24, 2015
BUENA PARK, CALIFORNIA
A man was hospitalized Tuesday evening after inhaling fumes
from a swimming pool cleaning chemical in a Buena Park apartment garage.
Firefighters with the Orange County Fire Authority responded
to a call at 8:30 p.m. at the Richmont apartments at the 6300 block of Lincoln
Avenue, and found a man lying semi-conscious on the ground, surrounded by a
spilled yellow liquid.
After the responders turned on their airtanks, they picked
the man up, sprayed him with water and removed his clothing to rid him of any
chemicals, Capt. Steve Concialdi said.
"The clothes would (otherwise) absorb the chemicals and
spill off," Concialdi said.
The man was then taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in what
appeared to be critical condition, Concialdi said.
The garage was filled with chlorine and other pool cleaning
products. Concialdi said the man lived
at the apartment complex and was possibly the pool cleaner.
Hazmat teams and the Anaheim Fire Department assisted.
Source: http://www.ocregister.com