I used to watch this show when I was a young girl and this is one of the segments I remember the most fondly. I remember the bravery of that teacher and thought, "Wow! He saved a lot of lives."
The building inspectors should have never allowed that building to be opened for student use since those chemicals were improperly stored and in bad condition.
It wouldn't be the inspectors alley, however the construction workers should have respected the chemicals... And the teachers in charge of chemistry should have been involved before they were even touched by the contractor.
No this is something that the fire marshal should’ve caught not a building inspector. A building inspectors job is to simply ensure the overall maintain ability of the structure and that it is code compliant in regards to building code not operations.
I had to watch this due to taking Chemistry 131 in college at the moment. Luckily the instructor makes us wear safety glasses anytime we are dealing with chemicals. Regardless of how mild the reaction will be.
I blame those two idiots goofballs not understanding the dangers of chemicals, even worse they were laughing, what idiots would do something like this, it's not funny if someone gets injured and risk others
Yikes. I can't imagine a teacher today letting students help with something like that, and I suspect incidents like this one are part of the reason why.
I remember this..... I was just a kid then living in WakeCounty NC..... I’ve been a fanatic of Rescue911 and Impact Stories of Survival.... Wish these shows were re-ignited again.....
In today's world had an explosion like that occurred, the chemistry teacher would not have received immediate assistance because the school would be placed on lock down and the first people to respond would be the police and not EMS.
that Teacher who started rinsing out her fellow teachers eyes definitely was a hero with how quickly she acted to save his eyesight. that explosion sounded like a major bomb cause of how volatile the chemicals were when exposed to air. thankfully there wasn't a chain reaction of explosions cause of the teachers quick thinking saving many lives 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏❤️
Wth caused that thing to start steaming/smoking and eventually explode!? To think they were being really careful, too!! I'm so glad everyone was OK in the end
Sodium is an alkaloid metal, soft enough to be cut with a knife, but, extremely volatile when in contact with any water. As it, it will explode violently when wet. Even if exposed to damp skin (say sweat), it will react. Usually, it is kept in clear mineral oil to protect it from exposure to moisture. Sodium is not the same as sodium chloride (salt), however. To give you an idea, there are videos on here where sodium was tossed into a lake and the result was quite impressive where the chunks of sodium shot up and out of the water before splashing back down. They left behind clouds of acrid/toxic smoke that carried away on the wind. There was probably a small amount of sodium in the container (A few micrograms, I think) that reacted with the drops of water those chowderheads threw in. But, knowing how explosive sodium is, would those students have realized the danger when that beaker was immersed into the water regardless?
That teacher is a hero it takes balls of steel to run with a beaker full of something that can explode me personally i would've thrown it in a janitors closet under a bucket and run
The teacher who flushed out his eyes had a fume cabinet/whatever you call it in her classroom. If he had one in his, why not just put the beaker inside, pull down the plexi glass window and run?
Chemically, sodium+water=hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide, or lye. Hydrogen gas is an inhalation and explosion hazard, but sodium hydroxide is a strong caustic that can, in a gaseous state, cause irritation of mucous membranes, pneumonitis (inflammation/irritation of air passages), and pulmonary edema (fluid in lungs) leading to dyspnea (difficulty breathing). As an EMT, I would anticipate that exposure to this gas could possibly worsen preexisting medical conditions like asthma, but I'd need to talk to a toxicologist or an MD to be sure. The secondary issue is, as the other teacher mentioned, the potential of a chain reaction caused by the explosion of the sodium. A third consideration was contamination by other substances; the substance was supposed to be sodium metal, but the reaction doesn't sound like pure sodium. That being said, the fact that students and a teacher were handling with corroded, leaking, or open containers lacking proper labelling and documentation, in a situation where contamination was likely, without proper safety gear, is of extreme concern, and is clearly a contributory factor to the incident, as the teacher was not wearing proper eye protection at the time of the explosion. As to that, I think the teacher involved certainly bears some responsibility for failing to communicate hazards properly to the others involved, and I would question the role of administrators, first in ensuring that standards were made and kept, and second, in not having the chemical mess that the students and teacher were cleaning up (the chemicals dumped into trash cans in a bad state) cleaned by professionals prior to opening the building and placing students in a situation where a dangerous chain reaction was possible. I don't remember seeing a fume hood in any of the classrooms shown. Where did you see it?
I am so grateful he appears to have been okay, but holy crap did he get lucky. At first I thought "why not just leave the beaker there?" but forgot about all the other chemicals nearby. I hope they learn from the incident and have proper storage as well as handling requirements (gloves, goggles/face shields) from now on. Chemicals are no joke. Even the seemingly innoucous ones can be dangerous. I do black and white film development at home using our bathroom sink. I've always worn disposable gloves when doing the development work as there's usually a little spillage here and there. One time I ran out of paper towels to wipe up the water on the countertop and used the nearby roll of toilet paper. My sister used it an hour later and said her skin burned when she touched it (I was still wearing gloves).
whats a surprise to me is something didnt happen when the chem's were first dumped together. shear dumb luck someone hadnt knocked the cans over and broke all that stuff at once
Why not just evac the classroom? Put the beaker in the corner and get out of the room. Would have got no one hurt, plus that classroom was soooo dangerous without protection.
That was explained in the show and Its also explained above. It would of created a chain reaction causing an even worse situtation such as fire, air contamination or even explosions.
Corrina James HMMM, A fire that could be stopped, or a man who wanted to act like a hero and not explain to the students what is going on and almost die, I would rather choose the fire that could be stopped. He could have threw it in a bathroom stall or many other places than risk his life.
Maxwell Payne With all the chemicals that were in that room at that time, I imagine the fire would be a lot bigger then what you're thinking of. And the Sodium Metal exploded quickly, so there may not have been enough time to evacuate the portion of the school that could have been effected.
Maxwell Payne Hi the problem with leaving the beaker behind and evacuating the classroom was when the beaker exploded it could have started a chain reaction explosion with the other chemicals that were already there. He prevented a much bigger explosion by taking the beaker outside. Or at least trying to. Like the lady said he was thinking of others and not himself.
There wasn't time to evac the building, though. He did the only logical thing he could. Allowing that to explode in the classroom with those other chemicals would have caused, as the principal noted, a severe chemical explosion and fire pouring caustic and extremely deadly fumes to go through the building. Instead of just the teacher being injured, several students may beve been killed from exposure to those fumes. Their deaths, my friend, I would not wish upon my worse enemy. I cannot even imagine how the human body would react, nor, what their lungs would look like during the post mortem.
Teacher should have evacuate his 4 students and himself, then called authorities. Carrying an explosive jar through half the school is not the safe option!
Chemical Explosions aftermath in Cartoons: *Has a bunch of black dust on you* Chemical Explosions aftermath in Real Life: *Burned, blinded, injured, and killed*
At 2:36...that student squirts water..he should not have done that!!! Being an honor student with dangerous chemicals he should have known better not to be goofing around....
I thought honor students were supposed to be smart? Those 2 don't seem very smart. Splashing water around chemicals.... Chemicals with no tops at that. Accidents happen but Thats like driving drunk and accidentally hitting a car
Brave teacher right here.
I used to watch this show when I was a young girl and this is one of the segments I remember the most fondly. I remember the bravery of that teacher and thought, "Wow! He saved a lot of lives."
The building inspectors should have never allowed that building to be opened for student use since those chemicals were improperly stored and in bad condition.
its likely the building inspectors didn't know
It wouldn't be the inspectors alley, however the construction workers should have respected the chemicals... And the teachers in charge of chemistry should have been involved before they were even touched by the contractor.
No this is something that the fire marshal should’ve caught not a building inspector. A building inspectors job is to simply ensure the overall maintain ability of the structure and that it is code compliant in regards to building code not operations.
That's a great point, I agree 👍
Oh they broke some many rules regarding lab safety and the number one rule was NO GOGGLES
Thank you teacher for saving your students. Your a hero. God bless you
The biology teacher, she's a hero! 💙
I had to watch this due to taking Chemistry 131 in college at the moment. Luckily the instructor makes us wear safety glasses anytime we are dealing with chemicals. Regardless of how mild the reaction will be.
Explosives and chemicals are serious business. Never play around with them.
These were his "honors students", splashing water around open chemical containers. Nice. Lab conditions like this always lead to accidents.
I mean they didn't know better. Kids aren't predictable
Yeah, that's was careless, I don't know what they were thinking
Kids are kids; Even honors students goof off from time to time.
Glass shards and concentrated NaOH: An extremely painful combination.
It has been 29 years since the accident. The High School science professor is lucky. I’m glad he is doing well.
Hey that's Elaina Liotta's job to tell us that. Geez. Don't take her job away.
I blame those two idiots goofballs not understanding the dangers of chemicals, even worse they were laughing, what idiots would do something like this, it's not funny if someone gets injured and risk others
That teacher save his students lives by risking his.
"biology teacher...was the first responder"
that might've helped his chances
The teacher should have been wearing safety goggles
Everyone. Not just the teacher.
Yikes. I can't imagine a teacher today letting students help with something like that, and I suspect incidents like this one are part of the reason why.
No safety glasses, no lab coats, no gloves. I hope this was just a shoddy reenactment. . . .
Quick thinking and brave actions. Way to go.
I remember this..... I was just a kid then living in WakeCounty NC..... I’ve been a fanatic of Rescue911 and Impact Stories of Survival.... Wish these shows were re-ignited again.....
In today's world had an explosion like that occurred, the chemistry teacher would not have received immediate assistance because the school would be placed on lock down and the first people to respond would be the police and not EMS.
that Teacher who started rinsing out her fellow teachers eyes definitely was a hero with how quickly she acted to save his eyesight. that explosion sounded like a major bomb cause of how volatile the chemicals were when exposed to air. thankfully there wasn't a chain reaction of explosions cause of the teachers quick thinking saving many lives 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏❤️
Why the hell weren't the students wearing any safety gear when handling these chemicals? I don't understand.
This person had a big bang today
Why didn't he just leave it in the stairwell after quickly verifying no one was in there? Fumes would have been contained, too.
Sometimes you just can't get rid of a bomb
Wth caused that thing to start steaming/smoking and eventually explode!? To think they were being really careful, too!! I'm so glad everyone was OK in the end
Sodium is an alkaloid metal, soft enough to be cut with a knife, but, extremely volatile when in contact with any water. As it, it will explode violently when wet. Even if exposed to damp skin (say sweat), it will react. Usually, it is kept in clear mineral oil to protect it from exposure to moisture. Sodium is not the same as sodium chloride (salt), however. To give you an idea, there are videos on here where sodium was tossed into a lake and the result was quite impressive where the chunks of sodium shot up and out of the water before splashing back down. They left behind clouds of acrid/toxic smoke that carried away on the wind.
There was probably a small amount of sodium in the container (A few micrograms, I think) that reacted with the drops of water those chowderheads threw in. But, knowing how explosive sodium is, would those students have realized the danger when that beaker was immersed into the water regardless?
Durham High School closed in either 1993 or 1995. It's now called Durham School of the Arts.
I'm the one who closed it.
@@seanmc7128 Really? Or are you being sarcastic?
@@PrincessEli82 who me? Um well umm.. hehehe I um. Well I was never even there. 😁
@@seanmc7128 Oh neither was I. I just saw it online.
@@PrincessEli82 huh? But I thought you were there. 🤔
No safety goggles? No CO2 fire suppression system?
This was back in the 80s.
28 years have past since this happened.
no hazmat truck?
That teacher is a hero it takes balls of steel to run with a beaker full of something that can explode me personally i would've thrown it in a janitors closet under a bucket and run
This is "Chemistry Hero" ep 116
Well let's see what you're making there, boy. Looks like soda pop. Watch it fizz! Boom!
Truly a Haz-Mat team ,should have been their to get those , chemical with their Haz- Mat suits.
Thank God for Mary Young saving his eye sight
To a teacher the safety of their students come first before their safety
That is the right way to do science!!
He never gonna see again, the guilty eyes have got no sight!
SuperRegal79 Well, you told me an idiot because of George michael? haa?
The teacher who flushed out his eyes had a fume cabinet/whatever you call it in her classroom. If he had one in his, why not just put the beaker inside, pull down the plexi glass window and run?
Chemically, sodium+water=hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide, or lye. Hydrogen gas is an inhalation and explosion hazard, but sodium hydroxide is a strong caustic that can, in a gaseous state, cause irritation of mucous membranes, pneumonitis (inflammation/irritation of air passages), and pulmonary edema (fluid in lungs) leading to dyspnea (difficulty breathing). As an EMT, I would anticipate that exposure to this gas could possibly worsen preexisting medical conditions like asthma, but I'd need to talk to a toxicologist or an MD to be sure. The secondary issue is, as the other teacher mentioned, the potential of a chain reaction caused by the explosion of the sodium. A third consideration was contamination by other substances; the substance was supposed to be sodium metal, but the reaction doesn't sound like pure sodium.
That being said, the fact that students and a teacher were handling with corroded, leaking, or open containers lacking proper labelling and documentation, in a situation where contamination was likely, without proper safety gear, is of extreme concern, and is clearly a contributory factor to the incident, as the teacher was not wearing proper eye protection at the time of the explosion. As to that, I think the teacher involved certainly bears some responsibility for failing to communicate hazards properly to the others involved, and I would question the role of administrators, first in ensuring that standards were made and kept, and second, in not having the chemical mess that the students and teacher were cleaning up (the chemicals dumped into trash cans in a bad state) cleaned by professionals prior to opening the building and placing students in a situation where a dangerous chain reaction was possible.
I don't remember seeing a fume hood in any of the classrooms shown. Where did you see it?
It looked like the storeroom and his regular classroom, not a lab. So, there may not have been a fume hood.
I am so grateful he appears to have been okay, but holy crap did he get lucky. At first I thought "why not just leave the beaker there?" but forgot about all the other chemicals nearby. I hope they learn from the incident and have proper storage as well as handling requirements (gloves, goggles/face shields) from now on.
Chemicals are no joke. Even the seemingly innoucous ones can be dangerous. I do black and white film development at home using our bathroom sink. I've always worn disposable gloves when doing the development work as there's usually a little spillage here and there. One time I ran out of paper towels to wipe up the water on the countertop and used the nearby roll of toilet paper. My sister used it an hour later and said her skin burned when she touched it (I was still wearing gloves).
whats a surprise to me is something didnt happen when the chem's were first dumped together. shear dumb luck someone hadnt knocked the cans over and broke all that stuff at once
HS students are really careless. Didn't give a care on what the folks says
Why not just evac the classroom? Put the beaker in the corner and get out of the room. Would have got no one hurt, plus that classroom was soooo dangerous without protection.
That was explained in the show and Its also explained above. It would of created a chain reaction causing an even worse situtation such as fire, air contamination or even explosions.
Corrina James HMMM, A fire that could be stopped, or a man who wanted to act like a hero and not explain to the students what is going on and almost die, I would rather choose the fire that could be stopped. He could have threw it in a bathroom stall or many other places than risk his life.
Maxwell Payne Idiot! Sodium Metal reacts violently when exposed to water!
Maxwell Payne With all the chemicals that were in that room at that time, I imagine the fire would be a lot bigger then what you're thinking of. And the Sodium Metal exploded quickly, so there may not have been enough time to evacuate the portion of the school that could have been effected.
Maxwell Payne Hi the problem with leaving the beaker behind and evacuating the classroom was when the beaker exploded it could have started a chain reaction explosion with the other chemicals that were already there. He prevented a much bigger explosion by taking the beaker outside. Or at least trying to. Like the lady said he was thinking of others and not himself.
He should have put it in an empty bathroom
if he did that an innocent student(s) if they were inside not to mention cleaning materials could've died!
He should have evacuated the building, not try to get the container outside.
+FortNikitaBullion It was a quick, last-minute decision, he needed to get it out of the school quickly.
Still, he could have pulled the fire alarm.
FortNikitaBullion While the beaker was in his hand and smoking? It was causing a chemical reaction
There wasn't time to evac the building, though. He did the only logical thing he could. Allowing that to explode in the classroom with those other chemicals would have caused, as the principal noted, a severe chemical explosion and fire pouring caustic and extremely deadly fumes to go through the building. Instead of just the teacher being injured, several students may beve been killed from exposure to those fumes. Their deaths, my friend, I would not wish upon my worse enemy. I cannot even imagine how the human body would react, nor, what their lungs would look like during the post mortem.
I am happy he is ok.
He had a big bang day
Professor? In high school? High school teacher. College professor. Though my chem teacher in eleventh grade was both.
One of my math teach teachers in high school, was a professor.
Teacher should have evacuate his 4 students and himself, then called authorities. Carrying an explosive jar through half the school is not the safe option!
Those two just messing and playing around and the water he flicked that and he doesn’t know that can explored that dangerous chemical 😳😵
Why were the chemicals dump in the garbage can? The construction workers should have been careful too
This Segment On Rescue 911 Went To A Commercial Break Like The Turn Your Backs Thing On Wheel Of Fortune
What episode is at 1:01 the white car shootout
He shpuld have have just left it in the stairs
At 2:43....that smoking beaker was a time bomb......
Is he from Kerala?
Chemical Explosions aftermath in Cartoons: *Has a bunch of black dust on you*
Chemical Explosions aftermath in Real Life: *Burned, blinded, injured, and killed*
Did you ever think pull a pull station
Nobody helped him? I would've been there!
Those students should be suspended for that, that is very careless and unexpectable. They put other students and teachers at risk. Stupid
3:57 boom
At 2:36...that student squirts water..he should not have done that!!! Being an honor student with dangerous chemicals he should have known better not to be goofing around....
To me lab is a dog I never took a lab class
I thought honor students were supposed to be smart? Those 2 don't seem very smart. Splashing water around chemicals.... Chemicals with no tops at that. Accidents happen but Thats like driving drunk and accidentally hitting a car
A chemistry student got a chemical explosion through his eyes at 3:58
A chemistry student is crying at 4:00
that's the teacher crying because of his eyes
Would it not make sense just to pull the fire alarm 🚨
Erican. Lewis