NORFOLK, Va. — The students hospitalized after a fire extinguisher discharged inside Nansemond River High School in Suffolk Tuesday were out of the hospital Wednesday.
That was according to a statement the school district sent to News 3 with an update.
Video from a student shows fellow students laughing and coughing inside Nansemond River High School Tuesday amid the chemicals discharged from a fire extinguisher after it was accidentally knocked off a wall during a class change.
“It all depends on how hard it falls and the way it falls," said Norfolk Fire Department Firefighter Public Educator Michelle Morgan.
To find out how fire extinguishers work, News 3 spoke with Morgan.
“You need to kind of pay attention to some of the things on a fire extinguisher. If you look at it, it has instructions. It tells you how to use it, the class," Morgan explained. "If you’re in your home, you want to mount it about four feet from the floor because that’s a good length. Then, the impact, like when it falls, is not as great."
She also emphasizes if you’re afraid to use it, don’t use it. Use something else like salt, a cookie sheet, or a wet towel.
When using a fire extinguisher intentionally, the recommended method is to pull the safety pin, aim the hose at the fire, squeeze the trigger, and sweep.
“When you sweep back and forth, you want to aim to the lowest part of the fire, to the base of it, to smother the fire," said Morgan.
Suffolk
Students sent to hospital after accidental fire extinguisher discharge
According to poison.org, many fire extinguishers release a fine powder that smothers the fire.
That chemical is usually monoammonium phosphate, but some can contain simple baking soda.
Both of those can lead to mild irritation as well as shortness of breath and coughing, as well as dizziness and headaches, which can usually be resolved by getting fresh air.
Dry chemical fire extinguishers like the ones commonly found in schools can spray up to 25 feet and for up to 30 seconds depending on the size and model.
At the school Tuesday, Suffolk Fire Chief Michael Barakey said the incident prompted an inspection of all of the school’s fire extinguishers.
“They’re being looked at for not only how they’re secured but making sure we’re not going to have another accidental fall," Barakey explained.
The extinguishers are inspected annually.
News 3 called Suffolk Public Schools Wednesday to try to ask several questions, including how the fire extinguisher falling could make it go off, and also to get details on when the fire extinguisher was inspected
The school district declined to do an interview but did say in the update to News 3 along with being released from the hospital, all but one of the students affected Tuesday were back in school. The one who wasn’t back in school was because their parents decided to keep them home.
