Exclusive: Mother says 6-year-old son was burned by water fountain at NJ school

ORANGE, New Jersey (WABC) -- A 6-year-old boy in New Jersey is recovering from a terrible burn he suffered after drinking from his school's water fountain.

The child's mother exclusively told Eyewitness News that her son drank from a fountain at Lincoln Avenue School in Orange that was mistakenly connected to hot water instead of cold water.

The school district says it is investigating.

"I put my cup up there, and then I turned on the cold water, super hot," Idris said.

Idris is in Kindergarten at Lincoln Avenue School.

He hasn't been back since last week when his mother said he tried to get water from a dispenser in the gym and he was severely scalded by steaming water that came out.

Matilda Ekeize says she is livid that the school did not call 911, did not get her son to the hospital, and she says she signed a release to make sure they would if he was hurt at school.

"This is definitely medical. 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.

Instead of getting him to the hospital after that, Ekeize says they sent her son back to class.

She says she confronted the principal after finally being told what happened.

"He's telling me he doesn't know the procedures, I said you don't know the procedures when the child gets second-degree burns? He's saying that the nurse is telling him that there's an ointment that they put on the child's skin until they make it to the ER. So you guys just don't call EMS?" Ekeize said.

The school released a brief statement that said in part, "At this time, the district is investigating this incident and at this time the district does not have any further comment."

Ekeize says her son is traumatized.

"I never, never, never again. It's not fun," Idris said.

Ekezie says she took her son to the hospital, where they confirmed he was suffering from second-degree burns.

The family is seeking legal counsel.

A cousin who is an emergency contact for Idris says the school reached out to her when the 6-year-old was burned.

"My concern is the lack of action after. That is an event that he's probably going to remember forever and you guys were not there for him," Evelyn Green said.