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Chlorine leak causes evacuation of St. Charles resort

A malfunction in a swimming pool's chlorination system forced the evacuation of part of Pheasant Run Resort Wednesday afternoon.

Two boys and a security guard who experienced breathing problems were taken to the hospital to be sure they were all right, but did not seem to be seriously injured, said Joe Pinto, general manager of the resort.

The indoor-outdoor pool will be closed until Thursday when the company that maintains it can determine what went wrong, but the resort has two other pools, said Pinto.

One of the boy's parents notified resort staff of a strong odor of chlorine, and staff agreed and called 911, said Pinto.

St. Charles Fire Chief Patrick Mullen said besides the three people who were taken to Delnor in Geneva, several others were treated at the scene and released.

Vapors from the chlorine started to spread into the resort, Mullen said, but officials and staff were able to get the fumes out of the building.

It seemed to be a temporary equipment malfunction, Mullen said, and the department asked the resort to get it checked to be sure it did not happen again.

"There's no current problem right now," Mullen said. "We'll demand that they run a diagnostic exam on their chlorination system. All in all we just had some people with respiratory complaints and minor injuries. It was much to do about nothing, but that's OK."

Several fire departments were called to the scene as a hazardous materials event. They included St. Charles, Aurora, North Aurora, Geneva, West Chicago and South Elgin.

About a dozen ambulances lined up from the east entrance of Pheasant Run to the pool area of the resort, but only three people were transported to Delnor Hospital in Geneva. James Fuller | Daily Herald