HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — A Merrol Hyde Magnet High School senior recalled what she saw in the hallway after a chemical flash fire occurred during a science experiment.
Sophia Sisler said she was in the hallway working on an art display Wednesday morning when she heard screaming.
"A student started coming downstairs into the nurse's office. They were crying and shaking, kind of freaking out a little bit and some of them had soot on them. They were really red, they had red spots on their faces and arms and that sort of thing," she recalled.
Sisler would soon learn about the chemical accident that caused a Science teacher and 11 other students to be sent to hospitals. Several suffered second degree burns.
"A couple had open blisters on their legs already. I think they were all just really panicked from what happened," she said.
Sisler said the science department has done the science experiment in the past without any problems. After the accident, she said teachers escorted those exposed to the nurse’s office until emergency crews arrived.
"They were clinging onto the teachers really and they were crying and they were terrified," she said.
She wanted people on social media not to blame the teacher for this accident. It's something that has been done in the past.
"He looked them all in the eye while he was actively burning and holding his burn spot and saying 'it’s going to be OK, you’re going to be OK' and he got them all out of the room unbelievably fast and he put all of the students before his own life," Sisler said.
The senior said she hopes all the students and teacher fully recover.
