Good test A chemical reaction occurred Monday at Carroll Jr.-Sr. High School when pool supplies were mishandled. The district hazmat team helped with clean-up efforts. A haz-mat team member is pictured being decontaminated. The team's specialized trailer is seen below. Comet photos A chemical gas mishap at Carroll Jr.-Sr. High School Monday morning turned into an opportunity for a training exercise for the newly formed district hazardous materials team.

The mishap occurred around 7:30 a.m. in the CJSHS pool pump room when one of the custodians poured chemicals into the wrong tanks.

The chemicals, lithium hypochlorite and sodium bisulfate, are used to treat the pool water, said Carroll Superintendent John Sayers. They each have their own separate tank and are not to be combined. The chemicals reacted, producing a poisonous chlorine like gas.

With summer school in session, Sayers said their first concern was to evacuate the building. Students and staff were instructed to go to the nearby elementary school.

School staff worked to correct the problem, but ended up calling in help.

Carroll County Emergency Management Director Justin Darling said that his office was contacted at 10 a.m. Flora Police Dept., Carroll County Sheriff's Dept., Flora Volunteer Fire Department and haz-mat team members from Lafayette and Frankfort also responded. A recovery station was set up by the Tippecanoe County Chapter of the American Red Cross

After neutralizing the product, they pumped it into a container for disposal, said Darling, finishing around 4 p.m.

During the recovery effort, Flora VFD was called to a garage fire and Camden VFD assisted with needed water and mutual aid.

According to Darling, approximately 40 emergency personnel were at the scene. "It was a good test for our district haz-mat team," he said. "Everything went well and I'm confident that this is the kind of response we can expect district-wide."

Sayers, too, said he was impressed with how well everyone worked together and the spirit of cooperativeness that was shown.

The building was aired out and students were back in class Tuesday morning. The custodian was also back at work after being taken to the hospital for observation.