Five injured after small explosion at Medina County pool house

MONTVILLE TOWNSHIIP, Ohio - Five people were injured after a small explosion at a pool in Medina County Monday morning.

The blast happened at about 8:40 a.m. at Fox Meadow Country Club in Montville Township.

According the Medina Fire Department, a pipe on a chlorinator exploded in the pool house as a maintenance worker was working on the device. The machine helps in the process of adding chlorine to the pool.

Those injured include a pool maintenance employee and four lifeguards ranging in age from 17 to 57.

Carli Turrittin, 17, was standing outside of the pool house when the explosion nearly knocked her off of her feet.  "It was kind of like a firework, just that huge boom and it rung everybody's ears," Turrittin said.

Firefighters said the victims’ injuries included minor burns and punctures, as well as complaints of ringing in ears. All were transported to Medina Hospital with what was considered to be non-life threatening injuries.  They were released by Monday afternoon.

Crews at the hospital set up a decontamination unit at the hospital to rinse off the victims before they went into the emergency room.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.  OSHA could take up to six months to determine an exact cause.

Turrittin said the maintenance worker noticed that a seal on the chlorinator was "kind of off" and that pressure "may have built up too much" before the explosion happened.

Dr. Eric Brown treated treated the victims in the emergency room and said they faced a "lower exposure" to chlorine.

Dr. Brown said a stronger concentration of the gas could mean big trouble.  "You can wind up on a ventilator.  You can die from it, but that's in very severe exposures," Dr. Brown said.

"I'm just glad everyone is o.k. because I know it could have been a lot worse," Turrittin said.

Management at Fox Meadow Country Club declined to comment.