Chemistry teacher accidentally sets high schooler on fire
Anna Poole, a 10th-grade teacher at New York City's Beacon School, experienced what may now be every chemistry teacher's worst fear: She literally set one of her students on fire.
The New York Post reports that Poole "improperly poured explosive methanol" onto a burning experiment, leaving 16-year-old Alonzo Yanes "looking like a victim from a battlefield," a new report from the Education Department's Special Commissioner of Investigation reveals.
To make matters worse, Poole didn't have a fire extinguisher or fire blanket in the classroom, leaving Yanes in unassisted pain until another teacher stepped in and provided Yanes with a fire blanket. The Post also reports that Poole did not make her students wear safety goggles or aprons in the classroom.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Poole allegedly yelled "Oh my god, I set a kid on fire!" during the incident. The accident occurred on January 2, but Yanes is still undergoing physical therapy for third-degree burns and has not yet returned to school, according to the new report, which was released last night.
"It's very clear from the report that they conducted an experiment that they had been warned by the government was dangerous," Jeffrey Bloom, Yanes' lawyer, told the Post. "As a result, a gifted, talented young man has scars, physical and mental, that are going to be with him forever."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures Playful goslings, an exploding snowman, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US Published
-
What is rock flour and how can it help to fight climate change?
The Explainer Glacier dust to the rescue
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: April 19, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published