Chlorine Vapor Cloud in West Pasadena Sends Man to Hospital Friday

Vapor from a swimming pool chlorine accident wafted through a West Pasadena neighborhood just south of the temporary fire station on Glenn Summer Road Friday at noon, sending one man to the hospital and prompting the Fire Dept. to issue a shelter-in-place advisory to residents.

Pasadena Fire units with a Burbank/Glendale Fire Hazmat team and South Pasadena Fire Air Utility 81 were dispatched to the scene, authorities reported.

Pasadena paramedics arrived on scene to find a pool maintenance man complaining of shortness of breath. The victim had accidentally mixed pool chlorine with an algaecide creating a toxic gas he inhaled, authorities said.

The victim was treated and transported to a local hospital in stable condition, according to a Fire Dept. reported.

Traffic was stopped on Glen Summer Road between Melrose and Nithsdale while first responders assessed the scene.

The vapors dissipated within approximately two hours and Hazmat technicians authorized the public to re-enter the neighborhood.