A teacher was severely burned in a hazmat incident Monday morning at La Cumbre Junior High School in Santa Barbara, according to fire officials.
Santa Barbara City Fire Department PIO Amber Anderson says crews responded to the school, located on the 2200 block of Modoc Road, just before 9 a.m. to reports of a medical emergency.
Anderson says one teacher was exposed to sulfuric acid and suffered severe burns to her body. She was reportedly treated on scene before being taken to a nearby hospital.
While the incident occurred while school was in session, no other students or staff were injured, according to Anderson.
The cafeteria and main building of the school, which shares its campus with Santa Barbara Community Academy, were evacuated. Students and staff were first taken outside before reportedly being moved to the auditorium.
Anderson says students in classrooms not attached to the main building were not impacted.
While the school has decided to not cancel classes, according to Anderson, she says parents can pick up their children if they want, but calls it unnecessary.
A hazmat response team, made up of fire crews from Montecito, Carpinteria and Santa Barbara City, responded to the incident and a private hazmat cleanup crew was also en route to assist.
Full cleanup was expected to be done by Monday afternoon.
