Fredericksburg Hazardous Materials Team Assists with Caroline County Incident

Fredericksburg Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Jones said the the Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team of the Fredericksburg Fire Department helped Caroline County and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for the second time in six months with a hazardous materials event.

This time the culprit was a leaking valve on an anhydrous ammonia tank at the Russell Stover Candy Distribution Center at 23361 Business Center Ct. in the Carmel Church area, he said.

VDEM contacted the Fredericksburg team shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday after Caroline County officials found the alarm detection system activated for the room where the ammonia was stored.

"Their first monitoring indicated that ammonia levels in that space were well above dangerous amounts," Jones said. 

The 115,000-square-foot building that has a retail store and distribution center was evacuated. Jones said anhydrous ammonia is a chemical compound made up of nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. It is a colorless gas with a pungent odor. While often used in agriculture as a fertilizer, in industrial applications it is often used as a refrigerant.

"After arrival and consulting with Caroline and VDEM officials, the Hazardous Materials Team made two entries into the room containing the leaking vapor," Jones said. "The first was to determine exactly what and where the product was escaping. At that point ventilation of the space and warehouse was started. This was accomplished by opening the large bay doors and using exhaust fans to remove the vapors and drop levels below those dangerous for operations. A second entry was then made with a repair technician who was able to isolate the leaking valve and place the system back in operation."

The Fredericksburg team was on site for about three hours. No injuries were reported.

On March 22, the Fredericksburg team went to the Flying J truck stop in Caroline County for a leaking container in the back of a box truck. The material was ammonia solution that similar to what you have for cleaning agents.  Jones said the team stopped the leak and made it safe for a clean-up contractor to remove the leaking container.

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