Monday, June 27, 2016

Fort Collins, CO worker burned by an acidic substance in a bag while working at the City Park


Hazmat crews respond to worker injured at City Park
Cassa Niedringhaus, cniedringhaus@coloradoan.com 7:10 p.m. MDT June 27, 2016



(Photo: Cassa Niedringhaus)

The west side of City Park was was put under an emergency notification Monday afternoon after a city of Fort Collins worker complained of being burned by a substance in a bag while working at the park.

According to scanner reports, hazmat emergency crews responded to the park worker after he complained of the burning sensation while working at 413 S. Bryan Ave., which is between city-owned City Park Nine Golf Course and Sheldon Lake and the office for the city's parks maintenance and forestry divisions. The call came in at 12:49 p.m. The seriousness of the injuries to the worker is unknown.

The emergency notification, sent out around 2 p.m., included the 1700 block of Taft Hill north to Laporte Avenue, east to Bryan Avenue and south to Mulberry Road.

Responders found a black plastic bag containing the substance in a truck behind the building. It was among a load of garbage that was collected from Lee Martinez Farm.

They then gathered a sample of the substance in a vial and tested it with an infrared monitor. Early indications showed a strong acid. They neutralized the substance and sent another sample to a third-party laboratory for additional testing. Results will be available in the next 5-10 days.

Crews monitored the air in the area and determined it to be safe, both during the response and later in the evening. At no point was there a threat to public health.


There was a second hazardous material call to Poudre Fire Authority at West County Road 54G and Overland Trail in northwest Fort Collins at 2:21 p.m. It is unknown if those two incidents were related.

Poudre Fire Authority cautioned residents to call authorities rather than investigate themselves if they come across a suspicious or unknown substance. Residents wishing to receive emergency notifications via text like the one sent out in this incident can register with the Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority at leta911.org.

Hazmat crews work to determine the substance that caused injuries to a worker at City Park on Monday. (Photo: Cassa Niedringhaus/The Coloradoan)