WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) – Four preschoolers and two adults suffered burns after encountering highly acidic ash along a recreation path Friday. Children and teachers from the Hunger Mountain Children’s Center were on a mission to study mud, said Kathleen Landry, director of the center. The group came across what appeared to be a pile of mud, she said, which turned out to be ash left over from wood-burning boilers that heat an office complex.

, said Duncan Higgins, deputy director of Vermont Emergency Management.

He said wood ash can become acidic when exposed to wet weather.

Soon after playing in the ash some of the children began complaining of pain, Higgins said.

Four children and two adults were taken to Central Vermont Medical Center, where they were treated for burns and released.

Landry declined to identify the injured children and adults.

The other five children washed, changed clothes and were monitored. They suffered no apparent injuries, Landry said.

Landry said the ash pile was next to the recreation path, easy to reach and not fenced in.

She and the other adults in the group didn’t see warning signs near the pile.

The state buildings are managed by the Department of Buildings and General Services. Officials were not immediately available for comment.

AP-ES-04-17-04 2000EDT