St. Catharine Students Burned By Experiment

Four St. Catharine Academy students are recovering after a science experiment went wrong. School president Sr. Patricia Wolf said a teacher was performing a demonstration in chemistry lab using a flame and alcohol during first period on Wednesday, November 28 at 8:45 a.m. when the flame grew bigger than expected and singed four students’ faces like a sunburn. The sophomores were taken to Jacobi Medical Center with minor burns and at least one student suffered respiratory injuries. They are expected to make a full recovery. A hazmat crew responded to the scene and determined there was no contamination and danger to other students. The victims’ families were immediately notified and all other families received a text alert within a hour of the incident. The school remained opened and classes resumed during fourth period. School officials said the teacher involved has been with the school for three years, has a lot of experience in the chemistry lab and is distraught over the accident. Photo by Edwin Soto