Volunteer firefighters responded to the Great Mills Pool a little after 11 p.m. Thursday for what initially was reported as a Dumpster fire, but the scene soon escalated into a Haz-Mat situation.
Someone using the pool called in the report, and further described explosions coming from the container.
Once the situation was assessed, Bay District Fire Chief Wayne Johnson determined it to be a hazardous material situation, and a crew from Naval Air Station Fire Department responded. Shortly after, they were using instruments to measure the air quality.
A pool employee told officials a batch of used chlorine tablets was thrown away.
Apparently chemical reaction occurred when the chlorine came into contact with something else in the container. The lid of the container blew open from the reported explosive reaction.
After a half hour being on the scene, emergency responders were still unaware of what was causing the reaction. The container continued to pop and emit a chlorine stench that several times caused workers on the scene to move to a safe distance.
Officials requested from pool staff the material data safety sheets for the pool chemicals, and called the manufacturer’s phone number to investigate the reaction possibilities.
Eventually a bucket containing the chlorine was removed from the container and filled with water to smother the tablets.
The level of chlorine in the air was continually checked around the scene. At approximately 1:30 a.m. firefighters cleared the scene.
The Bay Net will bring more details when they become available.