3 Injured in Classroom Explosion

A chemical explosion inside a biology classroom at Temecula Valley High School injured three students Friday, including a boy who was hospitalized with facial burns and cuts.

The others, a male and female, were treated for chemical inhalation at Inland Valley Regional Medical Center in Wildomar. The 40 other students in the classroom were decontaminated in gymnasium showers and changed into their gym clothes before leaving for home, a Riverside County Fire Department spokesman said.

The explosion of potassium permanganate occurred just after 10:30 a.m., school district spokeswoman Danielle Clark said.

County fire and school district authorities were working to establish if the chemical, which is used in fish ponds to treat parasites and bacteria, was brought into the classroom without permission, Clark said.

“This was not a class project, and we’re trying to answer how the chemical got in there,” she said.

The most seriously injured student was taken by helicopter from nearby Temecula Sports Park to the burn center at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. School and fire authorities declined to identify the student but said his injuries were not life-threatening.

No other classes at the 3,300-student school in southwest Riverside County were disturbed by the incident, county fire spokesman Capt. Bret Cerini said.

Parents of the injured and contaminated students were notified, and the county fire bomb squad was investigating how the explosion occurred, Cerini said.