Fumes From Drain Force 50 to Flee YMCA Building
About 50 people were evacuated from the Pomona Valley YMCA building Wednesday after drain-cleaning chemicals mixed and filled the building with fumes.
Fourteen people required medical treatment and three were hospitalized, including William Hampton, 54, the YMCA’s executive director.
Pomona Fire Captain Ron Bozarth said YMCA workers had poured a drain cleaner containing sulfuric acid down a clogged drinking fountain. When the drain remained closed, he said, workers opened the drain pipe and sulfuric acid spilled out. A reaction between the acid and solutions that had been poured down the drain earlier also produced fumes.
Hampton and Luis Moran, 29, a maintenance worker, received burns and were overcome by the fumes. They were hospitalized along with staff member Daisy Mergerson, 36, who complained of throat discomfort. A spokeswoman at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center said all three were in stable condition.
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