WELLESLEY, MASS. (WHDH) - A chemical reaction that burned the hands of children at a Wellesley day care prompted a big response Friday morning.
11 children aged 1-5 experienced irritation as most were sent to the hospital to be checked out.
“It looked like, just like I said, a minor superficial burn,” Steve Mortarelli said, Wellesley fire chief. “Just like if you got a bad sunburn. Some redness, irritation of the skin.”
Parents rushed to the daycare to make sure their children were okay.
The day care center, Bright Horizons, released a statement saying, “We are trying to understand more details about what happened at our Wellesley center, but children and staff presented with redness on their hands and the staff took immediate action and called emergency services. The children and staff received medical attention on-site and some have been transported to local hospitals for further evaluation. We are working with our janitorial vendor to understand if they may have used the wrong product in the hand-washing centers.”
Investigators believed a commercial cleaning agent may have found it’s way into hand soap dispensers.
The original call was for one child with redness, but then more developed the same symptom, prompting a call for ten or more ambulances.
Mortarelli said none of the reactions appear serious, and while it was a scary day for parents, he said most of the kids took it in stride.
“You know how kids are,” Mortarelli said. “They thought seeing the firetrucks was pretty cool. Some were a bit uncomfortable. Some were scared and some were playing it cool.”
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)