Amarillo Fire Department officials say other people who were in the home are \u201cnot out of the woods\u201d yet.
Fire officials say a chemical reaction occurred when one person tried to wash off a pesticide that had been sprayed under the house. Poisonous Phosphine gas was released.
Capt. Larry Davis said in a statement Monday that crews responded to a medical call at the home about 5 a.m. One child died at the scene and three others died at a hospital. Officials didn\u2019t release any identifying information, including the children\u2019s ages.
Other family members and first responders are being treated.
Toxic Phosphine gas is produced when aluminum phosphide is mixed with water or moisture, CBS Amarillo affiliate KFDA reports. Aluminum phosphide is a dangerous \u201crestricted-use pesticide,\u201d and it\u2019s used to kill mice, prairie dogs and gophers. A license is needed to buy it.
The Amarillo Fire Department said in this case it was clearly purchased from an unlicensed dealer, since the person who used it didn\u2019t know that mixing it with water could be damaging, KFDA reported. Once inhaled or ingested, the respiratory system is attacked and it only takes a few PPM (parts per million) to cause death.
\u201cThis is known, this happens across the United States and it\u2019s when people get a hold of stuff they don\u2019t know how to use and they don\u2019t do enough research and figure out that water is bad for it,\u201d said Lieutenant Josh Whitney. \u201cAnd then with the moisture that we have in our air and the moisture that he applied to it, it was just a recipe for a bad situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\nSimilarity rank: 6.4\n<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: -10<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n