On Sunday morning in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Ashley Thielen, the mother of two young children, let her one-year-old and three-year-old go to play at Bliss Park without expecting what would happen next.
Horrifyingly, she soon heard her toddler screaming, their skin marked with acid burns. After an investigation, authorities determined that an intruder had broken into the chemical storage room of the park’s pool and stolen muriatic acid: a corrosive substance commonly used for cleaning and maintaining a pool’s pH balance.
The children suffered second-degree burns to the palms of their hands and the bottoms of their feet. Thankfully, Thielen’s two children escaped with mostly superficial damage.
The acid had been poured on three slides, including the one that had caused the burns to the Thielen’s children. The horrifying incident reminds us of the importance of staying vigilant around our children and reporting suspicious activity to the authorities.
The acid pool was cleaned from the playground, but the slides remain closed until further notice. Longmeadow Police have asked anyone with burns to their hands, arms, clothing, or any information relating to the acid spill to come forward to the authorities.