Drilling Mishap Triggers Hazardous Materials Emergency At San Rafael Hospital: FD

SAN RAFAEL, CA — Firefighters resolved an underground utility emergency at a hospital Tuesday in San Rafael after a contractor accidentally drilled into a buried high-pressure oxygen line, officials said.

Firefighters were dispatched at 9:06 a.m. to the hospital at 99 Montecillo Rd. after reports of a rupture in a line running between the hospital and its operations and maintenance building, according to the San Rafael Fire Department.

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The damaged line extended from a large oxygen storage tank and supplied the hospital, authorities said.

Fire crews worked to secure the line, while responders brought in portable oxygen tanks to maintain the hospital's supply and prepared for a possible evacuation of critically ill patients who required continuous oxygen, officials said.

The hospital's emergency department was placed on divert, and incoming ambulances were directed to other area hospitals during the incident.

Hospital administrators later determined that the portable oxygen supply had stabilized operations and that an evacuation was unnecessary.

After about 90 minutes, the Marin County Hazardous Materials team located and secured the damaged oxygen line. However, responders said they continued to see vapor escaping into the atmosphere.

Further investigation found that the remaining leak was coming from an adjacent high-pressure steam pipe, rather than the oxygen line. The team secured the steam pipe, bringing the emergency to an end.