POWELL, Tenn. — Rural Metro Fire responded to an incident at Powell Station Park Saturday that resulted in two children being transported to the hospital.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office said the children involved in the incident were 7 years old and 4 years old, and said it involved an inflatable bouncy house filled with foam. The inflatable bouncy houses were at Powell Station Park as part of an annual celebration.
WBIR reached out to the mothers of both children. The mom of the 7-year-old, Kristyn Parker, said at one point her daughter stopped breathing and described the situation as traumatic. Parker said her daughter was resuscitated at the scene and taken to the hospital, and she was released on Sunday.
The mother of the 4-year-old child, Angela Michelle, said her daughter was also released from the hospital on Sunday and described the situation as a "drowning experience" and said she attempted to rescue her child in the bounce house with bubbles and foam.
WBIR is still working to confirm details about the incident.
KCSO said two children were in the bounce house filled with foam. It said some children suffered a head injury and the bounce house collapsed. The sheriff's office said two adults went in to get the children.
Jeff Bagwell, spokesperson for Rural Metro, said the bounce house did not collapse until parents jumped into the foam pit to get their children. He said the bounce house was on the ground when KCSO arrived and then it was unplugged, which deflated the bounce house.
"Bounce houses are not designed for adults," Bagwell said. "Adults need to remember that when they jump in, then they create a void or a divot in that bounce house. And if there are a bunch of kids in there, they're naturally going to go right to that."
Bagwell is also the president of the Powell Business and Professional Association, which hosted the event. It was the third annual Powell Station Celebration.
KCSO said that while parents and children were in the bounce house, some children were stepped on and other children inhaled some of the foam solution.
The mother of the 7-year-old said her daughter stopped breathing for a moment and was revived. The mother of the 4-year-old said someone was performing CPR on her child, but she was breathing. She described the young child as appearing "gray."
The two children were taken to a hospital Saturday afternoon. Their mothers said they were released on Sunday. The sheriff's office said its Major Crimes Division investigated but found no foul play was involved.
"Certainly we want, we want it to be a safe event," Bagwell said. "I think it is. But, it's a freak accident. It's really, all we can grasp is, right now, is it was a freak accident."
The provider of the bounce houses, Party Bounce House Rentals, said it had never seen similar injuries reported in the past despite the equipment previously being used for foam pits.
"I want to express my deepest concern for the two children who were injured in our foam pit bounce house over the weekend," said Chris Baird in a statement, the owner of the company. "The safety and well-being of our customers, especially children, is our top priority, and we are deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident."
He said the state checks the equipment every year.
"Our foam setup has been at the Powell Station Celebration for the past two years without an incident," Baird said. "We are currently conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the root cause of these accidents and implement comprehensive measures to prevent such incidents in the future."
Baird also said the solution used for the foam machine is a Dr. Party Foam solution. On Amazon, the product is listed as hypoallergenic, dermatologist-tested and safe for children.