Chicago Fire’s Daniel Kyri Recalls Near-Death Moment After Accidentally Drinking Bleach on Kid Nation

Chicago Fire’s Daniel Kyri Recalls Near-Death Moment After Accidentally Drinking Bleach on Kid Nation
Daniel Kyri is recalling a terrifying experience during his time on Kid Nation.

In PEOPLE’s exclusive look at VICE TV’s Dark Side of Reality TV, the Chicago Fire star, 29, recalls accidentally drinking bleach on the set of the 2007 reality series, which follows kids trying to create a functioning society without adult guidance in the ghost town of Bonanza City, New Mexico.

When asked about the “infamous” incident, Kyri shared that it happened “early in the morning,” adding, “We were in charge of the bar. We were going to go in there and start our morning right.”

“I just took some kind of light yellow liquid. It smelled citrusy. It smelled lemony, like it smelled fresh,” he recalled.

However, it turned out not to be the fruity drink the actor was expecting.

“We didn’t know that the crew had to disinfect some of the areas where we were eating, and they put bleach in these bottles that looked like soda,” contestant Olivia Cloer confirmed.

Not realizing what she was drinking, Kyri remembers that it “made my jaw drop open, and it was like, gulp, gulp, gulp.”

Immediately, Kyri realized something was almost wrong, recalling, “And then there was a fire and smoke, the smoke was coming up, it chokes your oxygen and you can’t breathe.”

“Someone had a bottle of bleach and she smelled it,” he added. “She was like, ‘That’s bleach,’ and I just wanted to run to where all the adults were.”

CBS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Kyri has since moved away from reality TV and is a regular cast member on Chicago Fire, playing Darren Ritter since the series began in 2018. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human stories.