THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 13, 1995 TAG: 9504130140
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 135 lines
POUR A LITTLE bleach into a bucket of water, add some ammonia and - Poof! You've stirred up big trouble.
First, you start coughing. Then your eyes begin to itch, your nose burns and your throat feels tight.
Your concoction is called ``housewife's brew'' because such mixtures are, unfortunately, too often used in housecleaning. The combination causes a chemical reaction that releases noxious fumes.
Many cleaning products - while harmless by themselves - can be extremely dangerous, or even deadly, when mixed, emergency officials say.
Housewives, however, are not the only ones who brew such caustic combinations.
Recently, an employee at Wal-Mart on North Main Street unwittingly mixed two incompatible substances when he attempted to clean up some liquid spilled onto the floor. The fumes that were released made dozens of people ill and caused a scare that, fortunately, was not as serious as first feared.
``The first thing popping in people's minds was whether it was another hazardous material like they recently had in Japan,'' said Robert L. Smith, the city's emergency services coordinator.
A similar situation could happen in your home or yard, Smith said, especially in the spring, when people often spruce up inside and out.
In concentrated quantities or with prolonged exposure, such a caustic combination can be extremely hazardous, said Lt. Jeff Messinger, Fire Department spokesman. People sometimes pass out from fumes when chemicals such as bathroom cleaners are wrongly blended, he said.
Exposure commonly causes burning eyes, nasal cavities, throat and lungs.
The antidote? Fresh air helps. Or call 911, if it's severe. But the best remedy, emergency officials say, is always prevention.
The incident last month at Wal-Mart disrupted business for nearly three hours.
The maintenance worker apparently used a mixture of Chlorox and water to mop up what looked like soft drink spilled on the floor in the health and beauty aids section. Emergency workers later decided the liquid was likely an ammonia-based hair dye, perhaps dripped from a leaking bottle in a shopping cart.
The store - with more than 300 people inside - had to be evacuated until the problem was resolved. As soon as the call came in, about 6:40 p.m., emergency crews put into effect the disaster plan for hazardous materials.
Their planning, reviewing and drilling paid off, Smith said.
``Our primary mission is to protect the public from harmful effects,'' he said.
Emergency personnel notified state officials, who dispatched the Southside Regional Hazardous Materials Team from Portsmouth, the closest of three area units. Representatives of the state Office of Emergency Services monitored the situation.
Firefighters fanned out through the store, telling people to leave. Several customers called the incident a ``calm evacuation.''
Smith called it ``organized chaos.''
As the employees and customers left the building, they were kept in a group nearby in case they needed to be decontaminated, Smith said. A policeman, who had been the first to arrive and who could have been exposed as well, stayed with them.
Fire Chief Mark R. Outlaw, who by state law is responsible for any hazardous material spill, directed the operation from the command post about 75 yards away. Nansemond-Suffolk Volunteer Rescue Squad set up a staging area for treating patients in the parking lot.
``We could have treated 20 people at one time with oxygen,'' Smith said.
At first, everyone was kept there.
``We wouldn't start transporting to the hospital until we knew what we had,'' Smith said. ``You could carry somebody to the hospital, and the ambulance and the emergency room could be contaminated. It could shut down the hospital.''
Rescue personnel, including firefighters who are emergency medical technicians, can handle the most serious problems.
``Except for surgery, we can do everything at the scene,'' Smith said. ``That, of course, means the paramedic is contaminated.''
Everyone had to be kept within a ``hot line,'' marking the boundaries of the contaminated area.
``Once you cross that hot line, you don't come back until you're decontaminated,'' Smith said.
Fortunately, the offending fumes dissipated quickly in the store. Still, 27 people were treated at the scene or at Obici Hospital that night. No one was kept overnight.
Smith, Norfolk's emergency coordinator for 25 years, left retirement to work part time in Suffolk two years ago. The only other evacuation he has overseen in the city was in January 1994, when more than 100 people had to be moved from Autumn Care Nursing Home on Pruden Boulevard when cold temperatures caused pipes to burst.
But emergency workers are prepared for all types of catastrophes - from natural disasters such as hurricanes or tornadoes to accidents such as a recent plane crash that killed the pilot and two passengers and injured three others.
``For a small city and with the limited resources we have, we have excellent police, fire and emergency services,'' Smith said.
When disasters strike, emergency teams respond according to plan.
``We don't ever want to be in a hurry in emergencies,'' Smith said. ``We need to know what we're dealing with.''
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
ABOVE: Lt. Jeff Messinger, public relations officer for the Suffolk
Fire Department, talks to the television news cameras about the
``home-makers brew'' that resulted in the evacuation of the Suffolk
Wal-Mart store last month.
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
ON THE COVER
[Color cover photo]
Nancy Godwin, left, and SalyiaCopeland are treated at Suffolk's
Obici Hospital for chemical fumes in the cover picture, taken by
staff photographer John H. Sheally II.
AT RIGHT: Family and friends wait outside Obici Hospital while
Wal-Mart employees and shoppers are checked for contamination.
The crash of a Piper Cherokee Six near Holland Road on March 12 put
Suffolk emergecy crews to the test. Three people were killed and
three were injured in the accident.
Photo
AT RIGHT: Fire and rescue units respond to the fire that gutted
Holland Baptist Church in 1993. Emergency workers are prepared for
all types of catastrophes. When disasters strike, the teams respond
according to plan.
Photo
Bob Smith is Suffolk's coordinator of emergency services.
by CNB