Three people hospitalized following pool chemical exposure at east-end hotel

Members of the Ottawa Fire Service hazmat team suit up and prepare to head into a hotel where dangerous levels of chlorine were detected. Aug. 27, 2022. (Ottawa Fire Service/Twitter)

Ottawa paramedics say three people were taken to the hospital with mild to moderate symptoms following exposure to pool chemicals at a hotel in Ottawa's east end.

The Ottawa Fire Service hazardous materials team was called to the Holiday Inn on Brisebois Crescent near Centrum Boulevard at 8:48 a.m. Saturday after vapours from chemicals that were being mixed in a mechanical room made it to the pool area, affecting several people.

A dispatcher told the 9-1-1 caller to pull the fire alarm in order to get everyone outside. An OC Transpo bus was provided as shelter.

OFS said two chemicals, about four litres chlorine and a half-barrel of muriatic acid, were accidentally mixed together. The hazmat team found dangerous levels of chlorine gas in the pool area.

Chlorine is typically used as a pool sanitizer. Muriatic acid is a potent cleaning agent and is also used to lower pH levels and alkalinity in swimming pools. Toxic chlorine gas can be released if they're mixed improperly. 

Paramedics say six people were assessed at the scene and three were hospitalized. It’s unclear if the people affected were guests, employees, or a mixture of both.

High-powered fans were used to help clear the air. Hazmat techs poured the barrel of chemicals into the pool to dilute it--a common tactic, OFS said--and brought the barrel outside for deconamination.

Levels of dangerous gases were back to zero by 10:46 a.m.

Ottawa fire has cleared the scene and normal operations have resumed at the hotel.