Chlorine leak, house fire make busy morning for DeLand firefighters

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
Getting out of the gear – HAZMAT team members get out of their heavy protective gear after containing a chlorine leak at a DeLand facility June 29.

PHOTO COURTESY MARK HARPER
Getting a workout – The State Fire Marshal's arson-sniffing dog gets a workout at the scene of an early-morning blaze June 29. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The dog was brought in as a matter of routine, DeLand Deputy Fire Chief Mark Harper said.

PHOTO COURTESY MARK HARPER
Blaze contained — DeLand firefighters douse remaining embers from a house fire at 817 S. Florida Ave. in DeLand June 29. No one was injured, but the house suffered extensive damage, and the fire scorched a neighboring home.

PHOTO COURTESY MARK HARPER
A free bath — A DeLand firefighter hoses down HAZMAT workers to remove any chlorine, after the workers went inside the building known as "Well 6" to fix a chlorine leak.

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
Towering above the street – East Minnesota Avenue in DeLand was shut down for a couple of hours June 29, while emergency workers contained and repaired a chlorine leak in the buildings beneath it.

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
Working in the rain — A chlorine leak at the well house beneath the water tower on East Minnesota Avenue in DeLand June 29 shut down Minnesota Avenue, while emergency personnel in protective gear capped the leak.

Fire at 817 S. Florida Ave. still under investigation

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jun 30, 2009 - 9:36:46pm

Fire and chlorine spill makes busy morning for firefighters, HAZMAT

First, the dispatch came in at 4:25 a.m. Monday, June 29, about a fully-involved house fire on South Florida Avenue in DeLand. Then, just hours after firefighters mopped up there, they were called to a chlorine leak at the corner of Minnesota and Kansas avenues, at the City of DeLand's big water tank.

The house fire, at 817 S. Florida Ave., was "well involved" when firefighters arrived, DeLand Deputy Fire Chief Mark Harper reported. "The fire was so intense that it damaged the adjacent home at 815 S. Florida."

Fortunately, the occupants had already left the home, and none were injured.

Two firefighters were injured, however, when they stepped into and fell in a large hole in the back yard, as they worked in the dark. One had a minor knee injury, and the other a sprained ankle.

The Fire Department estimated damage to the home at 817 S. Florida at $75,000. Two vehicles parked near the home, an older Chevrolet Monte Carlo and a 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe, are total losses. The neighboring house suffered exterior damage of around $3,000.

The State Fire Marshal's office is in charge of the investigation.

The American Red Cross was assisting the residents with living arrangements.

Mid-morning the same day, June 29, DeLand firefighters, countywide HAZMAT team members, and EVAC and other emergency-medical personnel responded to a call about a chlorine leak at the water tower at East Minnesota and Kansas avenues.

Public Works staff were injecting a 150-pound bottle of chlorine into the water system, at the station beneath the tower, when the bottle-valve broke – a potentially deadly situation. Chlorine fumes are highly toxic.

The crew did what they were supposed to do, Harper said, and called in emergency responders.

Three DeLand fire trucks, two HAZMAT units and EVAC rushed to the scene. They blocked Minnesota Avenue as a safety precaution, while they worked.

The team capped the leak and made repairs. No one was injured.

It was all in a day's work.

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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