Several hundred pupils evacuated from collège Charles-III
A total of 13 fire service vehicles were deployed, as well as three SMUR vehicles, 43 firefighters and 6 medical staff - © Monaco Government
The fire service has confirmed the evacuation was due to chlorine fumes.
It was an eventful morning on Wednesday 7 February for pupils and staff at the collège Charles III (middle school) on avenue de l’Annonciade. The fire brigade was called at 10.07 am and arrived on site at 10.14 am in response to a strong smell of chlorine – probably caused by an accidental mixture of chemicals in the pool’s equipment room during a maintenance operation.
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They quickly brought the situation under control while simultaneously evacuating “400 to 500 pupils and staff,” confirmed Interior Minister Patrice Cellario on Monaco Info that evening, adding that this represented around half of the school’s headcount.
The fire service did not check everyone over, explains Commandant Stéphane Vincent. “We checked out 56 people at the victims’ meeting point, under cover on the college grounds. Of these 56 people, 50 were considered as relatively urgent, and of the 50, 10 were taken to the CHPG for further assessment.” There were two adults and eight children, some of whom presented symptoms that were similar to asthma attacks. The Government of Monaco has stated that their state of health “does not give cause for concern” and that all the patients were able to leave hospital on Wednesday.
The dangers of chlorine inhalation
The fire brigade remained on site until 2 pm after carrying out ventilation work. “We don’t leave the scene until the danger is completely over,” says the Commander, who points out that whether chlorine inhalation is dangerous depends first and foremost on the dose. “In high doses, it can lead to death, but we hadn’t reached those kinds of levels here. The consequences also depend on each person’s condition, metabolism or state of health, for example.”
Fortunately, despite a big scare for all concerned, the evacuation went relatively smoothly, thanks in particular to the PPMS drills, which are carried out every term to remind pupils of the correct behaviour in dangerous situations such as this one. “The procedure is tried and tested,” says the Head of Operations at the Monaco Fire Service. “These exercises help to avoid panic if an incident actually occurs.”
The school opened as normal the next morning and an investigation is underway to determine the exact causes of the accident.