MAN SUFFERS BURNS FROM FIRE PIT EXPLOSION ON LONG ISLAND WHEN HE PLACED A GASOLINE CAN NEXT TO THE PIT

MARCH 13, 2015

DIX HILLS, N.Y.

Police say a Long Island many suffered first- and second-degree burns from a fire pit explosion.

Suffolk County police say it happened at a home on Gillette street in Dix Hills Thursday night at about 9:40 pm. They say the blast occurred after a gas can was placed next to the fire pit.  The man suffered 1st and 2nd degree burns.

According to Newsday (http://nwsdy.li/1FXeFiI ), the 45-year-old man was airlifted to a hospital with burns to his face, hands and upper body. He was expected to survive. 

He was being treated for what police classified as non-life threatening injuries, and was conscious and alert upon arrival at the hospital, police said.

Source: www.newsday.com

METROPOLITAN urges all combustible items be kept at least three feet away from a fire.  Gasoline should never be poured on a flame.

BEDFORD, VIRGINIA FIRE AND SUBSEQUENT PROPANE TANK EXPLOSION DESTROYS 2-STORY HOME

                         The home prior to the fire and explosion

MARCH 13, 2015

BEDFORD CO., VIRGINIA (WSLS 10)

One child and six adults are being assisted by the Red Cross after their two story home caught fire in Bedford overnight. 

The Bedford Fire Department says units responded to 511 South Street for multiple reports of an explosion and a house on fire. Fire officials say the first unit arrived at 12:29 a.m. Friday to find heavy fire showing from the wood-frame home. 
Neighbors tell WSLS 10 they heard a blast from as far as a few blocks away. One neighbor reported it looked like "A fireball in the sky."
Two people inside were initially reported missing. After a primary and secondary search, fire officials say they were located at a nearby house. Seven people total have been displaced; six adults and one child. 
A representative from the Red Cross responded and assisted those occupants with housing and other immediate needs, officials say. 
It took about 20 minutes for crews to get the fire under control. Twenty-eight firefighters from the Town of Bedford, Moneta, and Forest responded to this incident. 
The property owners tells WSLS 10 he plans to tear the house down, as there is too much damage. He says the section of the home where it appears the fire started was a space where some of the residents smoked on occasion. He also said there was a gas grill with a propane tank nearby, which may have led to the large explosion neighbors saw and heard. 
No injuries were reported. The Bedford Fire Department says the fire is thought to be accidental, but is being investigated by the Bedford County Fire Marshall's Office. 

Source:www.wfla.com

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR DWI FOLLOWING FATAL TWO-VEHICLE CRASH IN SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY

MARCH 13, 2015

SMITHTOWN, SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY

Suffolk County Police arrested a Kings Park woman for driving while intoxicated following a two-car head-on crash that killed an Island Park man in Smithtown early this morning.

Natalia Simons, 36, was driving a 2013 Nissan Rogue northbound on Route 25A when her vehicle crossed over into the southbound lane and struck a 2012 Toyota Camry, driven by Larry Garwood, who was traveling southbound on Route 25A at approximately 12:05 a.m.

Garwood, 59, was transported to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown via Smithtown Ambulance where he was pronounced dead. Simons was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital also via Smithtown Ambulance where she is being treated for her injuries.

Simons was charged with Driving While Intoxicated and she will be arraigned at a later date.

Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks and the investigation is continuing.

Detectives are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash to contact the Vehicular Crime Unit at 631-852-6555 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

FIREFIGHTERS EVACUATE HOTEL IN WISCONSIN AFTER CHLORINE LEAK CAUSES CHEMICAL REACTION INSIDE THE POOL

MARCH 12, 2015

OAK CREEK, WISCONSIN

Business at a local hotel is back to normal after guests were evacuated because of a chlorine leak.

The Oak Creek Fire Department responded to the Comfort Suites, 6332 S. 13th St., around 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Battalion Chief Tom Jonson said a hotel maintenance worker smelled chlorine and noticed a vapor coming from the hotel pool area. When the employee opened the door to check it out, he realized how bad it was and called for help.

For safety reasons, firefighters knocked on guests' doors telling them they had to leave the building right away. One of those people was Linda Herrera from Pennington, Minnesota. She and her husband are in town for a trade show.

"I started gathering some things up," she said. "Whatever I could fit in my purse."

County busses were brought in to take the dozens of guests displaced to another nearby hotel. But Jonson said most stayed in their cars while authorities investigated.

Milwaukee's hazmat team also responded to the scene and found a chemical reaction did occur. Members quickly isolated and contained the chlorine leak, preventing what could have a been a dangerous situation.

"The problem is it overcomes people very, very quick and as soon as you get one or two whiffs of it, it can incapacitate you, and then you're in that vapor cloud and oxygen is displaced," Jonson explained. "It's very, very dangerous. So they did the right thing here, in this case, a very good job."

Authorities are working to determine what the chlorine mixed with inside the pool area to cause the chemical reaction.

No one was hurt.

Reactions typically occur among incompatible chemicals, such as between the chlorine and algaecides.  It is, unfortunately, very common. 

Source: http://www.cbs58.com

2 CONTRACTORS TREATED FOR EXPOSURE TO A CHEMICAL MIX OF SULFURIC ACID AND PEROXIDE AT SAMSUNG AUSTIN SEMICONDUCTOR IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

MARCH 12, 2015

AUSTIN, TEXAS

Two people are being treated after a reported hazmat situation at Samsung Austin Semiconductor on Thursday morning.

According to Austin-Travis County EMS, medics received reports of people possibly exposed to sulfuric acid and peroxide at the Samsung building at 12100 Samsung Blvd., #110, Austin, Texas 78754.

A Samsung spokesperson said two employees of Gruene Environmental, a company contracted by Samsung, are being treated for exposure to a chemical mix believed to contain sulfuric acid at University Medical Center Brackenridge. Their injuries are not believed to be serious.

Samsung spokesperson Catherine Q. Morse said between 10:30 and 10:45 a.m. Thursday, the contractor's truck was trying to hook up to Samsung's tank to deliver the chemicals when there was a malfunction in the line, causing pressure to build up and the chemical to spill.

ATCEMS officials said the chemical mix was 70 percent sulfuric acid and 30 percent peroxide. Morse did not confirm that.  70/30 mix is the standard ratio of this solution that is called piranha solution.  Piranha solution, also known as piranha etch, is a mixture of sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), used to clean organic residues off substrates. Because the mixture is a strong oxidizing agent, it will remove most organic matter, and it will also hydroxylate most surfaces (add OH groups), making them highly hydrophilic (water compatible).

Morse released the following statement Thursday afternoon:

Today, two employees from Gruene Environmental were in the process of performing a routine chemical offload of sulfuric peroxide mixture. This is a process that happens several times a week. During the process, the two Gruene Environmental employees were exposed to half a gallon to a gallon of a chemical mixture which originated from the truck. Currently we are investigating the incident to understand the root cause and determine what further corrective actions need to be taken. The two employees of Gruene Environmental were treated immediately and taken to the nearest hospital for further treatment. At no time were other employees or contractors in harms way, and the spill did not impact the fabrication plants, surrounding neighborhoods or schools. The clean up of the spill is in progress right now as well as further investigation.