People Overcome by Fumes at MGM Grand Pool

People Overcome by Fumes at MGM Grand Pool

LAS VEGAS -- It was a strange sight on a hot summer day in Las Vegas: A usually packed resort pool devoid of people.

Roger Wiseman and his wife Susan were at the MGM Grand pool. They knew something was wrong but didn't know the details. "Everybody was just kind of sitting there and next thing, they are saying, ‘You've got to get out of the pool. Leave the area,'" Roger Wiseman said. "We didn't know what was going on."

Around that same time, authorities received a 911 call about a serious situation at the pool. "There was a chlorine smell in the area, and they were evacuating the MGM pool area," said Clark County Fire Department Hazmat Coordinator Richard Brenner.

Once hazmat crews arrived, they quickly learned there was a pump problem in the pool, creating a hazardous condition. "The malfunctioning pump was dumping excess amounts of sodium hydroxide, in this case too much. So it was overchlorinating the water," Brenner said.

Close to 100 people were treated for breathing problems because of the chlorine fumes. "They had them just lined up there and paramedics around offering oxygen," Wiseman said.

26 people were also taken to local hospitals to be checked out. "(It's) unfortunate for those people. I did see some people getting sick," Susan Wiseman said. No one was seriously injured during the incident. A few hours after, the casino reopened the pool.

Despite the ordeal, the Wisemans plan to visit the pool again. "It can happen at any hotel, you know," Susan Wiseman said. "We'll go back." "We'll probably go back again before we have to leave," Roger Wiseman added. "It's a good time down there. Anything like that can happen."

Hazmat crews say they don't often see situations like these caused by mechanical issues. Usually, human error is to blame.