August 13, 2012

11:39 AM

Fire crews were dispatched to a Haz-Mat incident this morning (8:33 am) at 6500 N. Marine Dr., Pasco Corporation of America. Initial reports were that 3 workers were complaining of feeling ill. This was of particular concern due to the fact that Pasco utilizes anhydrous ammonia, a colorless, highly irritating gas with a sharp, suffocating odor. Workers were evacuated as a precaution.

Portland Fire & Rescue Stations 26 (Portsmouth), 17 (Hayden Island), 8 (Kenton), 24 (Swan Island), and 22 (St. Johns) responded. Haz Mat Station 7 (Mill Park) brought in monitors to detect any harmful gases and found no evidence of a leak. Pasco detectors had a similar result prior to emergency response arrival.

Fire Lieutenant Alan Bronson says that " Our primary concern is getting people out of the hazardous environment as quickly as possible while we assess the placement of our resources".  He added, "Generally the severity of symptoms depends on the degree of exposure."

The three patients were transported to hospital via American Medical Response. There were no other patients. Haz-Mat teams are still on scene at this time.