10 people evacuated after chemical leak at a swimming pool in Oldbury

Fire fighters are tackline a chemical incident at Birchley Island Retail Park in Oldbury this morning (Saturday, April 1).

West Midlands Fire Service announced that it had sent crews from Oldbury and Haden’s Cross, along with a specialist team, to Wolverhampton Road at 8.50am - they attended within two minutes and 30 seconds of being called.

The incident was located at swim!, where the fire service say there was a chemical leak within the plant room of the swimming pool. Two people complained of breathing difficulties as ten people were evacuated. But there was no wider risk to the public as the leak was contained to the building. Fire fighters remained at the scene this afternoon (at 1pm) to ventilate the building. WMFS announced that hte incident was closed at around 3pm.

A spokesperson for the WMFS said: “Shortly before 9am on Saturday 1 April we were mobilised to an incident at Swim on Birchley Island Retail Park, Oldbury. The incident involved a chemical leak within the plant room of the swimming pool. Ten people were evacuated, with two people complaining of breathing difficulties.

“The leak was contained to the building and posed no risk to the public. Two fire engines and our hazardous materials team responded, together with colleagues from the ambulance service.

“The first crew were at the scene within three minutes of being mobilised. Our teams are ventilating the building and our specialist officers are using air monitoring equipment to make sure the area is safe.”