The Chattanooga Fire Department responds with several fire companies and a haz-mat team to a chlorine leak at the DoubleTree at 407 Chestnut Street.Three people were sent to the hospital Thursday after a chlorine leak at a downtown Chattanooga hotel, authorities said.
The Chattanooga Fire Department, several other fire companies and a hazardous materials team were called to the DoubleTree hotel, 407 Chestnut St., shortly after 2 p.m., spokesman Bruce Garner said.
Capt. Don Bowman, the incident commander, said two hotel employees were in the basement putting chlorine tablets in a machine that feeds into the hotel pools when a valve failed. Chlorine spewed onto the floor, and the two men were exposed to it before leaving the area, he said.
Another employee from the hotel next door later walked into the area and also was exposed, Bowman said. All three were taken to Parkridge Medical Center after coughing and complaining of difficulty breathing.
All of the residents in the floor above were ordered to stay in their rooms until the hazard was eliminated, said Assistant Chief Mack Moore, who represented the haz-mat team. The chlorine tablets were turned over to hotel management for proper disposal, he said.
The three people taken to Parkridge are expected to be treated and released, Garner said.