Katherine Sullivan

But one thing he did know, the radiation meters at one of the reactors was reading way too high.

The people living near the plant, in a town near Harrisburg called Middletown, were also confused about the information they were hearing.

At first, they were told not to worry.

It wasn't until two days after the accident, a Friday, that things became alarming.

Former Middletown resident Paula Kinney was the mother of three young children at the time.

She was at home when the governor made an announcement.

She remembers lines at gas stations and traffic leading out of Middletown as the community emptied out.

Kenny and her family drove an hour and a half away to her in-laws' house.

The following week was a blur of news updates, expert opinions, and radiation tests.

Here's what had really happened the day of the accident.

At around 4 o'clock in the morning, there was a problem with the cooling system at Unit 2.

It caused temperatures to rise and triggered an automatic shutoff of the reactor.

A valve at the top of the reactor got stuck open, letting radioactive steam escape into the containment building.

Operators didn't realize the valve was open, and they cut off coolant to the reactor, which led to overheating.

About half of the uranium fuel inside the reactor melted.

After about 10 days, the public was told the threat of radiation had passed.

Paula Kinney returned home with her husband and three children.

No deaths or injuries were attributed to the partial meltdown.

But the experience changed a lot for her.

I mean, it was like, I couldn't believe they did this to us.