Four students and a teacher suffered burns Wednesday after a fire broke out during a demonstration in a Virginia high school chemistry classroom.
The fire was ignited at around 9:30 a.m. in a second-floor classroom at Dinwiddie High School, Dinwiddie County Public Schools officials said in a statement.
Officials said, “The fire alarm was pulled and all students were evacuated from the building. A teacher was taken to a local hospital and three students were rushed to VCU Medical Center, including one who was transported by medical helicopter. A fourth student was treated at the scene for a minor burn and released.”
Senior Beth Piland said, “I was left traumatized after watching my classmates catch fire before my very own eyes.”
“My teacher was demonstrating chemical reactions when all of a sudden an explosion happened and sparked a fire. It spread quickly to the first and second row of students in the class. I saw my friends start burning,” Poland described the incident. “Students’ faces and other body parts became engulfed in flames and they were screaming in pain as the teacher was trying to put out the flames.”
Describing one of the victim’s injuries, Piland said, “His hair was crispy. His skin was peeling and his lip was busted.”
Meanwhile many other students at the school were just a shaken up as Piland.
“It could have been me or anybody,” senior Alanna Perkins said. “It’s really sad that it happened at a school where you think you are supposed to be safe at.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation, officials said.
Students were dismissed before noon Wednesday and remained home Thursday for remote learning, but in-person instruction at the school was expected to resume Friday.
