FIREFIGHTERS DISCOVER SOURCE OF POLICE HEADACHES
BY DAVID F. PETERSON, FIRE/MEDIC, MADISON (WI) FIRE DEPARTMENT
At approximately 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning in late August 1993, the LaCrosse (WI) Fire Department responded to an agricultural storage warehouse at the request of the police department. The assistance was needed because several police officers developed headaches while investigating an open door at the facility. The warehouse stored dry milk whey in large, multilayered storage sacks.
On arrival, firefighters searched for possible causes of the headaches. They concluded it may have been a natural gas-fueled modine heater unit. Air samples found 23 ppm of carbon monoxide in the building. The natural gas service was shut down, and the fire crews returned to their fire station. Total time on scene was one hour and 12 minutes.
The next day at 10 a.m., approximately 29 hours later, the fire department again was requested to go to the warehouse for a follow-up investigation. Police officers were investigating another break-in at the facility. The officers described an “irritating” atmosphere within the building. Firefighters monitored the building for carbon monoxide and found 47 ppm.
Fire personnel were baffled as to the origin of the CO, since all natural gas service to the building had been shut off. We called CHEMTREC for assistance. CHEMTREC contacted the manufacturer and learned that carbon monoxide is a decomposition by-product of wet whey.
We checked the whey storage bags and found that they had gotten wet as the result of a leaking roof or from condensation on the floor. We ventilated the building, and the owner disposed of the wet whey. Total time on scene was two hours and seven minutes.
LESSONS LEARNED
This incident points to the fact that information sources are valuable, especially when an incident involves a stored product or material. In such cases, resource lists containing the name of the product manufacturer/owner and an emergency phone number would help expedite mitigation of the emergency.
Also, hazards of products may not always be obvious and can be easily overlooked. Many products have primary, secondary, and even tertiary hazards, which should be researched and noted in preplans.
This incident also points out what can happen when raw products decompose or interact with another chemical. We must always anticipate the potential for safety/ health threats from such chemical reactions. Fortunately, no one was injured at this incident. n
