Two students are in fair condition with burns after a demonstration in a chemistry classroom in Northern Virginia sparked an explosion on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The blast Friday morning at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, was accidental and occurred as a teacher performed an experiment, Fairfax County Fire Chief Richard Bowers said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It was a demonstration of fire in the different colors,” Bowers said. “The students were observing the experiment when the explosion occurred.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exact nature of the experiment performed at Woodson wasn’t known immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An exercise often known as “the rainbow experiment” has previously left students with serious injuries and should not be performed in classrooms, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board<\/a> and the American Chemical Society<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “These demonstrations present an unacceptable risk of flash fires and deflagrations that can cause serious injuries to students and teachers,” the ACS said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In New York City, a botched rainbow experiment — which shows how various mineral salts produce flames in different colors when mixed with highly flammable methanol — left a 16-year-old high school student with serious injuries<\/a> in January 2014. In Hudson, Ohio, the same experiment left a 15-year-old prep school student and model with devastating burns<\/a> in January 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Woodson student Daniel Dorlester said he was in the classroom full of 30 10th grade students when the blast erupted about 9:40 a.m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “It was kind of a fireball, but it wasn’t like a ‘whoosh’ thing that went up, it went out,” he said. “[The teacher] decided to add more alcohol straight from the bottle, and at that point, it blew up and everyone started evacuating.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dorlester made it out of the room unhurt, though a sweatshirt he had left elsewhere in the classroom went up in flames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I didn’t know what to think of it, I just knew that I needed to get out of there,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three other students had less serious, non-life-threatening injuries. They were taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital and had been released by 4 p.m. Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n The teacher also sustained minor burns and was treated on the scene. She stayed at the school to talk to authorities, Fairfax Fire Capt. Randy Bittinger said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Again, non-life-threatening, but she does want to make sure that she lets everybody knows what occurred and gets that investigation taken care of,” Bittinger said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officials said 50 percent of the chemistry classroom was damaged by water, smoke and fire. The fire caused $7,500 in damage, Bowers said.<\/p>\n\n\n “It was a small fire,” said Dan Schmidt, from the Fairfax County fire department, said. “Firefighters, along with the sprinkler system, put out the fire.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The school was evacuated after the fire, which was contained to a single room. A hazmat team evaluated the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Anything to take precautionary measures is, I think, the recommended route when it comes to the safety of children and students,” Schmidt said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chopper4 footage showed evacuated students gathering near the football field outside the school. Other students were taken to tennis courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday was the last day of the marking period, so students had been scheduled for early dismissal even before the fire occurred, said John Torre, a spokesman for Fairfax County Public Schools. Students were dismissed at 12:55 p.m., their scheduled time. Parents were notified of the situation, Torre said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FCPS Superintendent Karen Garza said in a release Friday that she was “deeply saddened” by the injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “FCPS is truly like a family, and as such, we are all deeply concerned about what happened today,” Garza said in the release. “I know this incident has affected the Woodson community and, as a district, we will provide as much support and assistance for students, staff members, and families as is needed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also praised “the quick and calm actions of the Woodson leadership and staff” in conducting a safe evacuation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Orchestra teacher Kathy Thompson said some students were in tears and eager for updates about their classmates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “They’re glued to their phones, trying to get whatever information through social media that they could,” she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n