RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Randolph Air Force Base's first responders got the chance to put their training hours into real-world experience here Oct. 8, when an alarm was triggered after reading dangerously high levels of chlorine.
The cap from a 150 lb. cylinder at the base water treatment facility began leaking mid-afternoon, and due to particularly high winds, the gas started to spread quickly throughout the area.
"This type of incident is what our hazardous material first responders are trained for," said Senior Master Sgt. Robert Stuart, 12th Fire and Emergency Services deputy fire chief. "There was more than three times the immediate danger to life and health levels present in the building. That much volume is enough to seriously injure an exposed person. Thankfully no one was affected by the leak."
Though there were no injuries, first responders did take every precaution to ensure base and local citizens in the area were safe, including shutting down part of FM-78.
"We evacuated three local businesses to ensure their employees' safety," Sergeant Stuart said. "At first, we didn't know where the leak was coming from, so we used our equipment to air out the building, but after a 15-minute work cycle, levels weren't going down."
Randolph fire fighters, fully enclosed head to toe in their level-A suits, began to canvas the area outside the afflicted building and discovered the top-most valve of a canister was leaking the gas.
"Once we identified the leaking area, we were able to send in specialists to cap the valve and secure it until it can be properly sealed," Sergeant Stuart explained. "Because first responder teams like HAZMAT and bioenvironmental spend hours training and getting certified to handle various events, we were able to detect, identify and secure the leak without suffering any injury."
For more information on how to protect against hazardous materials incidents, visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Web site at http://www.fema.gov/, or call 652-6915.