Neighbours alarmed by 'loud sound' & 'flare' after Jurong East swimming school mistakenly discards chlorine into sewer

Chlorine is very reactive to the germs and bacteria found in sewers.

Andrew Koay | March 07, 2021, 04:08 PM

A flare was ignited and an "alarming sound" created after a maintenance worker at a Jurong East swimming school discarded chlorine powder into the sewage.

According to a Facebook post by the founder of Happy Fish Swim School, Tan Jian Yong, the Mar. 5 incident was a result of a chemical reaction involving chlorine and germs in the sewer.

No students were on the premises of the school at the time of the incident and no injuries were reported, wrote Tan.

The school conducts lessons for babies and toddlers at various heated and indoor pools across Singapore and Malaysia.

A loud sound alarming neighbours

According to Tan, a waste management company had been hired by the school after a "strong smell" related to the pool's chlorine drum was observed.

"Our maintenance keeper has genuinely mistaken the intention and took the initiative to discard the chlorine powder into the sewage without knowing that it will cause issues," said Tan.

Chlorine, which Tan described as being "very reactive to germs, bacteria, and other chemical compounds" found in sewers sparked the flame at around 8:30pm.

"A loud sound alarmed neighbouring residents. We apologise for that," he added.

Tan wrote that the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)  and police were immediately alerted.

SCDF flushed the sewers with water to dilute the chlorine, while police took a statement from the school on what had happened.

The maintenance worker was sent to a hospital for a check-up and by midnight the premises had been handed back to the school.

Responding to queries from Mothership, SCDF confirmed they had attended to the incident at 2 Jurong Gateway Road.

"Upon arrival, SCDF firefighters used a gas detector and found the presence of gas in a sewage drain," said a spokesperson.

The gas was mitigated by SCDF using a water jet.

Regular operations resumed

"PUB will continue to monitor the chlorine level in the sewage system," said Tan.

"If anyone has been affected by this incident, please notify us immediately."

The school has since resumed regular operations, with neither the pool nor the premises affected by the incident.

"We are deeply sorry for the incident. Thank you for all the concern and support that you have shown us in many ways," said Tan.

Top image from Happy Fish Swimming School