On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at approximately4:50 p.m., a pine tree fell in Brookside Park outside of Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena. At the time of the incident there were Kidspace staff, volunteers, and campers, as well as the general public in the vicinity. Immediately after the incident, Kidspace staff evacuated children from the area and notified emergency services who arrived within minutes.
Before emergency personnel had arrived on the scene, Kidspace staff were able to account for all campers, staff, and volunteers. After emergency personnel arrived and secured the area, the Pasadena Fire Department reported that there were six children who were treated for minor injuries and two children who were transported to the hospital with critical injuries. The injured parties were participating in a Kidspace day camp for children ages 5 to 9 and were awaiting pickup from their parents at the time of the incident. After all campers were accounted for Kidspace staff notified the parents and guardians of the children attending the day camp program.
“Our hearts go out to the families of those injured as well as all those who witnessed this frightening incident. We wish everyone a speedy and complete recovery,” said Michael Shanklin, Kidspace CEO.
“We commend the Kidspace staff for their quick thinking in evacuating the kids to safety and sheltering them while the scene was secured,” said Lisa Derderian, Public Information Officer for the Pasadena Fire Department.
“I am extremely proud of our Kidspace staff, members of the community, and the first responders from the City of Pasadena for their quick thinking and help getting everyone to safety and ensuring everyone was accounted for,” said Shanklin. “We are constantly reviewing our safety protocols and procedures and I am confident that diligence helped minimize injuries and save lives.”
At this time, Pasadena City Officials have secured the area and are investigating the cause of the incident. Kidspace is working with the City of Pasadena as they continue their investigation. The incident has not compromised the safety of any part of the Kidspace campus. Kidspace will be open to the public tomorrow, Wednesday, July 29, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. as usual. Kidspace would like to thank the City of Pasadena first responders for their quick action and support, along with the Kidspace community and parents who helped immediately following the incident.
