| On Monday, October 11 at approximately 12:15 hours, MICU 25 was dispatched to 2 Hillendale Road for a report of a person down in an automobile. Within seconds, the call was upgraded to a HazMat incident involving the vehicle, adding the full company and the Chester County HAZMAT Team (Station 15). The initial caller stated a bucket containing an unknown substance was on the seat next to the driver.
MICU 25-1 and 25-3 responded and blocked the roadway while Assistant 25 (A.McCarthy) established the Hillendale Road Command. Rescue 25 (B.McCarthy) and Engine 25-2 (Agostini) responded and entered the scene from opposite directions to establish a safe zone and prevent traffic from passing through the scene. Deputy 25 arrived and was appointed the Operations Group while Engine 25-1 responded to establish a water supply if needed. Once Traffic 25 was in place to block traffic, both engines responded to the scene to assist with the ongoing operations.
Using binoculars, the Rescue crew observed the vehicle from a safe area while Senior Rescueman McCarthy interviewed the caller to obtain information about what he saw inside the vehicle. According to the caller, a bucket containing some sort of yellow foam was seated on the front passenger seat. The called added that he could smell an odor of some type of acid and that a warning sign posted on the vehicle stated, "TOXIC Call the Fire Department". The caller left the area and called 911.
Several minutes after the first arriving Longwood units, the HAZMAT team arrived and set up a briefing area, decontamination area and observation area. Chief 15, Hillendale Road Command, and a supervising PA State Trooper began to discuss their course of action while other LFC members used Danger Tape to set up a barrier to keep gathering spectators and news reporters out of harm's way. Two members of the HAZMAT team suited up in Tyvek suits and SCBA and approached the vehicle to determine what materials they were dealing with. After the recon, the commanding officers gathered again to plan a course to mitigate the incident. Two members again entered the scene, broke the windows out of the vehicle and set up a ventilation fan to disperse the remaining fumes.
After the vehicle had been ventilated, the patient was removed from the vehicle, decontaminated and turned over to the Chester County Coroner's office. Crews from Longwood assisted the HazMat team with packing their supplies and cleared the scene shortly before 1900 hours. Special thanks to the Kennett Fire Company (Station 24) for covering our first due during the incident.
Incidents of this nature have been occurring more frequently throughout the United States, although this is the first reported incident in Chester County. Should you ever encounter a situation like this, be on the look out for the following warning signs:
1.) Warning signs placed on the windows of the vehicle stating "Toxic" "Do Not Enter" "Call Fire/Police"
2.) Buckets or containers inside the vehicle filled with a strange substance (i.e. liquid, foam etc.)
3.) Empty chemical containers including household cleaners, pesticides, bleach, acids etc.
4.) Duct tape or packing tape on the doors, windows, and air conditioner vents "sealing" the inside of the
car.
5.) A vehicle occupant that appears to be sleeping.
In any event, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR OR BREAK THE WINDOWS! Move away from the vehicle immediately and call 911. |
