Stonington (WINN) -- Investigators are trying to figure out what
went wrong at Hygea Technical Products, after a chemical fire in the
testing area killed 4 children at a nearby school and caused massive
evacuations in the area.
"It was like a sweet smokey smell," Kim Roberts, of Stonington, said.
"We knew that something was burning."
The incident was reported around 2 p.m. at Hygea Technical Products which manufactures chemicals for
bottling plants on Mechanic Street in the Pawcatuck section of town.
It was not a big fire, but very as hydrochloric acid was released into the air forcing employees into the
parking lot and about 700 residents out of their homes and
businesses.
The real problems arose when smoke from the fire drifted into a
nearby playground where 4 children inhaled toxic amounts of
chemicals. The smoke killed them within minutes.
15 other children are in intensive care but expected to survive,
although some may suffer permanent blindness.
Some employees say they heard a loud hissing sound as a lithium ion batteries
in the testing area caught fire and spread to other areas of the plant. And then
the alarms went off.
"I knew they made plastics, I didn't really think about anything exploding, and
stuff like that," Todd Kirby, of Stonington, said. "You mean you think of
bottles, you think soda or energy drinks, nothing this size."
Fire crews will stay in place throughout the night and into the early morning
hours as DEP tests air. They are trying to get it down to safe levels so they can
get crews in to clean up.
"They want to make sure everything is completely safe and that everything is
cooled down and safe for the rest of the night," Captain Jerry Desmond, of the Stonington Police
Department, said.