A 6-year-old in New Jersey burned his mouth while drinking from a water fountain at his elementary school, according to his family
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- The family of a 6-year-old student at Lincoln Avenue School in New Jersey alleged that their child drank what he thought was cold water from a school fountain, which turned out to be hot
- They said the child suffered second-degree burns as a result and alleged that the school did not contact emergency services after the boy sustained the burns
- The school district said in a statement to ABC affiliate WABC that the matter is currently being investigated
The family of a 6-year-old boy in New Jersey said their child was scalded after he drank water from a school fountain.
Matilda Ekeize said in an interview with ABC affiliate WABC on Tuesday, June 10, that her son Idris drank water at Lincoln Avenue School in Orange that he assumed would be cold, but turned out to be hot.
“I put my cup up there, and then I turned on the cold water, super hot,” Idris, 6, told the outlet.
Ekeize alleged that the school did not contact emergency services or send her son to the hospital, even though she had signed a release to make sure the school would do exactly those things in case her child suffered harm.
The mother said that the school instead sent Idris back to class.
“This is definitely medical,” Ekeize told WABC. “That’s second-degree burns, so if they would have called EMS and sent him to the hospital, I probably would’ve been feeling a little bit more at ease. I wasn’t because now I had to call the ambulance.”
Ekeize said she took Idris to the hospital for his second-degree burns.
She also alleged that the school principal told her that he didn’t know “the procedures” to follow when a child gets second-degree burns.
PEOPLE reached out to Ekeize, Lincoln Avenue School and Orange Public Schools for comment. In a statement shared with WABC, a representative for the school district said, “At this time, the district is investigating this incident and at this time, the district does not have any further comment.”
Evelyn Green, a family relative of Ekeize, told WABC that she was concerned about the school’s response to Idris’ injury.
“That is an event that he’s probably going to remember forever and you guys were not there for him,” she said.
Idris, a kindergartner, has not returned to school since the incident, WABC reported.
“I never, never, never again. It’s not fun,” Idris told the outlet.
