Students Evacuated After Chemical Spill At Sacred Heart In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — A chemical spill in a science lab at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield Wednesday night resulted in the evacuation of several students and staff from a building on campus, according to Fairfield fire officials.

No injuries were reported in the 8 p.m. incident, in which the university's emergency personnel evacuated the building before firefighters arrived. The last fire unit cleared the scene more than three-and-a-half hours after the initial call.

"As a precaution, due to the unknown chemicals spilled and possible reaction, the Fairfield County Hazardous Incident Response Team was called to the scene to make entry and determine what chemicals had spilled and check for any chemical reaction," fire officials wrote on Facebook.

Members of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also responded to the scene to assist the Fairfield HazMat team.

What chemicals were spilled were not disclosed, but NBC Connecticut reported that a shelf where the chemicals were stored appeared to give way, which caused the spill.

"The spill was contained to the office of origin," fire officials said. "There were no exposures or injuries of students or staff reported. The scene was turned over to University Facilities and a private clean-up contractor was en route to clean the area."

American Medical Response provided standby medical support, and Fairfield police assisted by securing the area of the incident on campus.