Household chemical mixture causes medical emergency

Household chemical mixture causes medical emergency

A medical call received by the Western Reserve Joint Fire District in Poland turned into an odor investigation Tuesday night.

Fire Chief David “Chip” Comstock Jr. said a mixture of house cleaning chemicals are believed to be the cause of a gas cloud in a house on Youngstown-Pittsburgh Road.

“You have to very careful with what you mix,” he said. “We have had in the past were people mix chlorine and ammonium based products.”

This causes a chemical reaction and releases a gas.

In this situation it is assumed that the man became unconscious after mixing chemicals to unclog a drain. “What [emergency workers] did is open up windows and got the patient to a position where they could work on him,” Comstock said.

A few people were exposed to the gas, but no one needed treatment.

“We try to teach our folks to be aware of their surroundings as they go into homes,” Comstock said.

Emergency personnel worked at the home for a couple of hours after the call came in around 9:30 p.m.

A hazmat team also assisted in the process. The home appeared to be in good condition Wednesday morning. The patient was transported to the hospital Tuesday.