WHITMAN, MASS. (WHDH) - Emergency crews blocked the entrance to a Whitman neighborhood Tuesday night after a chemical explosion rocked the area.
The explosion on Hilltop Road resulted from a mixture of two different brands of pool shock and the blast sent one homeowner to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries around 7:45 p.m., according to the Whitman Fire Department.
Megan Hennessy who recently moved into the home with her 29-year-old boyfriend said he mixed a bag that was leftover from the previous residents with a new bag of chemicals.
“He used two different brands,” Hennessy said while sitting in a car parked outside the home with the couple’s dog in her lap. “When he mixed it in the bucket it was fine but when he dumped all the water out after putting it in the pool, it started to smoke and bubble.”
Moments later, what was leftover in the bucket exploded.
“When he stepped back, it had one large explosion which blew the bucket in the air and once it hit the ground it had three more smaller explosions,” she explained.
Hennesy’s boyfriend was taken to the hospital to be checked out. She said he was suffering from hearing loss due to his proximity to the blast though he was regaining it.
Neighbors said they heard a large boom from a least a half a block away.
She said this is not how she would have chosen to meet them.
“Now all the neighbors know us,” she said. “So it should be interesting to meet everyone after this.”
The neighborhood was closed off for about two hours as hazmat crews cleaned up the spill.
Deputy Fire Chief Timothy Grenno took the opportunity to remind pool owners to use caution when dealing with chemicals this summer.
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