Four Florida Firefighters Sickened by Substance
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. --
Four firefighters were treated and released from a hospital after being exposed to a mysterious substance in a truck on the side of Interstate 95 that also sent a man and a child to hospitals.
West Palm Beach Fire Rescue crews responded to a medical call on the side of northbound I-95, just north of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, shortly after 7 a.m. Monday.
When rescuers arrived at the scene, they found a man unconscious on the ground and a dazed 10-year-old boy, Battalion Chief Marty Palermo said.
"He really wasn't able to give them too much information," Palermo said. "He was saying, 'The can's in the car. The can's in the car.'"
Firefighters said there was a heavy odor coming from a jug in the pest control truck.
"It turns out that there was some type of acid-based solution inside the vehicle that the two patients were exposed to," Palermo said.
The boy was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center, and the man was taken to Columbia Hospital. Both were put in decontamination tents at the hospitals.
WPBF 25 News reporter Ted White said four firefighters felt the effects of the solution and were taken to the hospital. They were later released.
Officials with the Department of Environmental Protection are trying to determine what the solution was.
Northbound traffic was backed up for several hours in the area.
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