Hazmat Team Responds To Sulphuric Acid Leak At DHS Complex

WASHINGTON, DC — Hazmat teams from two D.C. area fire departments responded to chemical leaks in the District Wednesday morning, including a sulphuric acid leak at the Department of Homeland Security complex in Southeast.

D.C. Fire and EMS units were dispatched around 6:53 a.m., in response to an automatic fire alarm in a building located at 1640 block Kalmia Road, N.W., according to Vito Maggiolo, FEMS public information officer.

"When they arrived and began investigating the source, they determined there was some sort of a leak coming from a large, commercial chiller, which provides central air conditioning for this institutional complex," Maggiolo said. "When they realized the nature of the emergency, they requested a Hazmat assignment."

Hazmat personnel responded to the scene and determined that it was a refrigerant leak coming from the air conditioning unit.

Three of the firefighters who were part of the initial response were transported to a nearby hospital to be evaluated for possible exposure to the refrigerant.

FEMS personnel examined six employees of the facility and determined they did not need further medical treatment.

While units were responding to the chemical leak at Kalmia Road, FEMS received a call at 8:58 a.m., for the report of an acid spill at the Department of Homeland Security complex in the 2800 block of King Ave., S.E.

"At one of the buildings there, we had a sulphuric acid spill, which was the result of apparently a battery overheating or cracking," Maggiolo said. The battery was part of a bank of batteries designed to provide backup power in case of an outage.

Since FEMS' primary Hazmat Unit was still working at Kalmia Road, the Naval District of Washington Fire Department, which has a full-service Hazmat Unit, responded to FEMS' request for mutual aid Hazmat support.

"We isolated the spill to the room of origin," Maggiolo said. "We shut down the air conditioning system, so the fumes would not spread throughout the building. There was some odor in other parts of the building and the building was evacuated out of an abundance of caution."

The Hazmat Team was able to isolate the incident and come up with a plan to ventilate the structure of any odor or fumes.

No fire personnel were injured and one person was transported to an area hospital to be evaluated for non-life threatening injuries.

Employees who worked in the building where the spill occurred were sent home for the day, according to Maggiolo.

As of 10:45 a.m., the scene at Kalmia Road had been cleared and reopened, but units were still working to clean up the King Avenue site.

Update Hazmat 1600 block Kalmia Rd NW. This is now believed to be a Freon leak from a large air conditioning chiller. #DCsBravest have mitigated the problem. 3 firefighters transported for possible exposure and 6 civilians evaluated but do not require further medical treatment. pic.twitter.com/gMev2KYWFO
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) September 2, 2020