Cleaners combine, create health hazard at Missouri Veterans Home

A shift worker at the Missouri Veterans Home trying to clear a drain Sunday morning used a cleaner containing sulfuric acid, but it reacted with some bleach already in the pipe, according to Capt. Ray Warner of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, creating a hazard.

Veterans' Home workers called the fire department as a precaution, he said.

Firefighters helped medical staffers for more than an hour, airing out the space while protecting the 49 patients and eight workers in the home.

"We sheltered them in place," Warner said. "We closed the fire doors and put wet towels under the doors."

No one was injured.

Sherri Howard, the home's nursing supervisor, said the emergency response went like clockwork.

"Everybody cooperated perfectly," she said. "The fire department was wonderful."

Warner said while the fire department isn't often called to deal with such incidents, they do happen from time to time at businesses or homes.

"The only thing you can do is open windows, turn on some fans and get out of the room," he said. "If you can get the product out of the drain, turn on the water and flush it out."