Chemistry lab fire injures high school students

DENVER, Sept. 15 (UPI) —

One student at a Denver charter high school was hospitalized in a burn unit after a fire in a chemistry lab Monday morning.

Three other students were treated at Denver Heath Medical Center and released, officials said. A teacher at the Strive Prepatory SMART school was treated at the scene.

David Mathis, a Strive Prep 10th grader, told KMGH-TV that he was in the lab as a teacher lit methanol during a demonstration. He said that sparked a fire.

"I only saw one of the students, but his skin was peeling off, and it looked like at least second-degree burns all over," Mathis said. "We were all just chaotic. We were trying to figure out what just happened. We just saw fire everywhere in the room, too, and we were just trying to put it out and help the students."

The most seriously injured student was transferred to the University of Colorado Hospital Burn Center in Aurora.

The school building was briefly evacuated and the lab was shut down for at least a day.