DENVER — A chlorine and a natural gas leak were both reported in the same area Friday morning, injuring a total of 8 people, the Denver Fire Department said in a news briefing.
Just before 11 a.m., Denver Fire received a report of a chlorine leak at a business at 3910 Joliet St. At roughly the same time as the chlorine leak, a natural gas leak was reported at 11200 E. 45th Ave., Denver Fire Department spokesperson Greg Pixley.
"It became a very chaotic scene as we tried to determine if it was one large scene or the two individual scenes," Pixley said.
Seven patients were taken to Denver Health from the scene of the chlorine leak on Joliet Street. One of them had critical injuries, Lt. Jesse Trudel, a spokesperson for Denver Health said. The others had non-life threatening injuries.
"They're very dangerous," said Greg Pixley with Denver Fire. "We were lucky that in this circumstance the safety system for the chlorine system that was used within this business did exactly what they needed to do and shut down the leak."
Chlorine gas is denser than air and can cause respiratory issues.
"You'll develop significant respiratory issues and that would be the main concern initially," Lt. Trudel said. "It also creates a plume and that plume can expand based in what the wind direction is doing."
A pediatric patient was taken to Children's Hospital from the scene of the gas leak, with non-critical injuries, according to Trudel.
The surrounding area was evacuated for a short time. As of 12:15 p.m. everyone was allowed to return, according to Denver Fire.
The Denver Public School District said in a tweet that students at several schools in the area were being told to stay inside due to a smell in the area. The district later sent out an update saying that Denver Fire had cleared the leak and that all schools were back to normal operations.
The District also said that all students and staff were safe.
