Around 100 residents and workers were evacuated after fire broke out in a waste plant sparking a chemical alert.

The blaze in a number of large oil drums caused plumes of black smoke visible from miles around as it spread through Arrow Environmental Services in West Bromwich.

Acrid smoke shot into the air from the fire, which started at around 1.45pm in part of the premises used to recycle waste oil.

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Staff at the firm in Kelvin Way faced a huge clean-up today as oil had flooded from the building onto land outside. The cause is not yet known but it is suspected the hot weather may be to blame. Workers at the scene described how the flames escalated in seconds and a series of bangs followed.



Around 35 firefighters tackled the blaze at its height and hazardous materials officers were drafted in. Firefighter Steve Husbands said crews faced a fight to stop the waste oil entering water courses. Also an oxygen cylinder exploded, causing a fireball, and about seven other cylinders had to be removed amid fears they would also blow up.

Arrow declined to comment.

PUPILS had to be evacuated from a secondary school after a chemical alert.

Several fire crews and a hazardous material unit were sent to the school yesterday morning after reports of fumes.

The incident involved chemicals in a science preparation room at Brine Leas school in Nantwich.

The substances which sparked the alert were removed from the building and are now being disposed of by a specialist company.

HARMFUL chemicals including hydrochloric and sulphuric acid were left in an Ammanford factory — creating a high risk for people living nearby.

The Environment Agency Wales (EAW) removed some 500 containers and five chemical lagoons at the former electroplating facility, the exact location of which has not been disclosed.

Kimberley Ekin-Wood, from the EAW, said: "This site posed a high risk to both the local environment and people living in the area so removing the chemicals had to be a priority."

The factory has been empty for several years.

The EAW, alerted by the fire service found the previous landowners had left it full of waste chemicals. These included hydrochloric acid, chromic acid, sulphuric acid and sodium hydroxide.

A MAN has been charged on suspicion of possessing an explosive which led to the prolonged evacuation of around 50 houses in Sheffield.

Police said the 34-year-old man is facing charges on two counts of possessing an explosive, after chemicals were found at a property on Ridgehill Avenue, Intake.

They said the substances, discovered on Thursday, were consistent with those used in the production of class A drugs and explosives.

The suspect, who lives on Ridgehill Avenue, has been remanded in custody.

A second man in his 60s arrested in relation to the incident was released on police bail until June, pending further enquiries.

BOMB squad officers carried out a controlled explosion this afternoon after police discovered chemicals in a Sheffield office.

Ridgehill Avenue, Intake, Sheffield, was shut for hours yesterday when police discovered chemicals relating to drug production.

The avenue was cordoned off for a second time this morning when more substances were discovered during a follow-up search.
...
“Police had previously found chemicals at the address and the controlled explosion took place to safely dispose of these substances from the property.

“Earlier this morning a number of neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precautionary measure, as the public’s safety is paramount to officers.

“A 34-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to produce class A drugs, he has subsequently been arrested under the explosives act.

A SCIENCE teacher suffered burns after a chemical exploded during a demonstration to pupils at Garstang Community Academy.

The teacher was conducting a experiment in a science laboratory using silver nitrate when the chemical flared up, leaving her with burns to her face and hands.

Paramedics were called to the scene at 10.52am yesterday and were joined by 10 firefighters from Garstang and Lancaster and police.

The 49-year-old woman was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital. No pupils were hurt.

There was no fire for crews to extinguish, but there was damage to a desk and a wall.

Eighty people were evacuated following a chemical incident at a Croydon hotel yesterday.

Firefighters from New Addington fire station were called to the Selsdon Park Hotel, Addington Road, just before 6.43pm to reports of an automatic fire alarm going off.

When the crew arrived they discovered there was a chemical incident, with the wrong quantities of sodium hypochlorite and sodium bisulphate mixed in the hotel's leisure centre.

London ambulance were called and one person was taken to hospital suffering from the effects of inhaling chemical fumes.

SPILLED chemicals sparked a response from firefighters.

After a dog walker spotted a blue liquid on a track near Plump Hill in the Forest of Dean, police alerted Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service at 11am on Friday morning.

Two fire crews from Cinderford station using breathing apparatus attempted to identify the spilt chemical.

It was found that the chemical urea had been previously used at the scene by the Forestry Commision to mark out tree stumps.

The crews made the area safe and left the incident in the hands of the Forestry Commission.

FIRE crews attended a fire at a Netherton laboratory yesterday.

Crews from Tipton, Cradley Heath and Smethwick attended the fire in the first floor lab at Exova UK Ltd in Halesowen Road, shortly before 5.30pm.

The fire had broken out inside the ventilation extraction unit, with 10 per cent of the two-storey building engulfed in flames.

Firefighters wore chemical protection suits and gloves to put out the flames because of the presence of laboratory gases.

Police, West Midlands Ambulance Service and Environmental officers were also in attendance at the premises, which is one of the world’s leading laboratories in the testing of pipeline materials for the oil and gas industry.

VILLAGERS in Annesley Woodhouse were told to stay in their homes for several hours after a large blaze involving a chemical-filled container.

The fire started at the Collins Earthworks firm on an industrial estate off Park Lane, Kirkby on Friday March 23.

A tanker containing calcium carbonate (quicklime) is thought to have overheated and caught fire.

Residents were told to keep their windows and doors shut until lunchtime on Saturday March 24 because of fears surrounding fumes from the blaze.

A section of the MI between junction 27 at Annesley and junction 28 at Mansfield was closed from 5.30 pm last Friday, causing chaos during the rush hour. The road re-opened at 8.15 pm.

Two specially trained officers were among 17 firefighters to attend reports of dumped chemical waste – which turned out to be used chip fat.

Police received reports of a mystery smell and a leak coming from ten plastic containers left in the Co-Op car park on Barras Street, Liskeard, at 9.15pm on Tuesday.

They contacted Cornwall Fire Service, who sent out two fire crews, plus an environment support vehicle and two officers specially trained to handle hazardous materials.

The area was cordoned off and firefighters wore specialist clothing to inspect the contents of the containers, only to find it was used cooking oil.

But yesterday, Lee Griffin, the fire services group manager for service delivery, said the service had to “err on the side of caution”, but said the response was scaled-down because of “common sense”. It could have cost up to £10,000 if protocol had been followed blindly. As it was, it cost about £1,500, he said.

Mr Griffin called whoever dumped the waste “totally irresponsible”, and urged any witnesses to contact Cornwall Council’s environmental services department.

LIFE returned to normal for hundreds of Derbyshire residents on Saturday after smoke from a chemical fire had prompted expert advice to stay indoors.

The fire broke out in a container of calcium oxide – more commonly known as quick lime – at a factory in Kirkby-in-Ashfield at 5.20pm on Friday and smoke spread across the border during the evening.

Derbyshire police warned people in Amber Valley, including Ripley, Alfreton, South Normanton, Codnor, Heanor and Pinxton to keep doors and windows closed as a precaution.

At the height of the blaze, the M1 in both directions between junction 26 and 28, was closed due to visibility problems and health risks.

A Derbyshire police spokesman said: "Nottinghamshire police and the fire service said we could stand down from the incident by 4.20am on Saturday. We were advised the smoke could cause skin irritation, although the risk was 'very low'."

Firefighters have tackled a blaze caused by an explosion at a pharmaceutical company in Edinburgh.

Crews were sent to MacFarlan Smith on Wheatfield Road in the west of the city at 12.14am on Sunday.

A small explosion started the fire on the second floor of the detached Blandfield Works building and firefighters were required to wear chemical protective suits while extinguishing the flames.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: “The fire service was called to the scene where there had been a small explosion on the second floor in the process room.

The chemical explosion at The Pods leisure centre happened after a worker mixed 5kg of chlorine tablets with another chemical, an official report has revealed.

The step was taken despite clear instructions warning the dangers of mixing the substance, the Telegraph can reveal.

​Opening day: The main pool in use at The Pods on its first day open to the public for bathing last July

Opening day: The main pool in use at The Pods on its first day open to the public for bathing last July

The explosion delayed the opening of the swimming pool by seven days.

The accident and incident investigation report, carried out by the council’s corporate safety unit, gives details of what happened at the Ashby Road site on June 18 last year.

The papers reveal that the incident was drawn to the attention of staff when the duty manager at The Pods walked into a cloud of chlorine gas after investigating the cause of an activated fire alarm.

At around 10.30am, he walked into the swimming pool plant room, which had been shown on the fire panel as the location of the blast, via the dryside fire exit.

The report reads: “As he opened the fire exit, he walked into a cloud of chlorine gas. He immediately shut the doors, exited the building via the main entrance and tried to access the service compound to gain entry to the rear outside plant room door.”

Holes in the floor of James Weir large enough for people to fall through and flames stretching a full 30 metres along each side of the building were just a few of the lasting sights of last month's blaze at Strathclyde University.

The campus blaze tore through the six-storey structure on Montrose Street for almost five hours before being extinguished with the building now, only four weeks on, back to the slimmest semblance of normality.

In an exclusive interview with The Journal a week on from the fire, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Deputy Assistant Chief Officer, Jim Doyle, who was in command of the incident, revealed the situation threatened to spiral out of control as crisis levels were raised and more firefighters called in to keep a handle on the blaze.

Firefighters wearing protective clothing have dealt with a hazardous chemical spill at Llandudno Hospital.

The alarm was raised after peracetic acid, a chemical cleaning fluid used for sterilising, was spilled during routine maintenance, said North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

Two crews from Llandudno and a specialist environmental protection unit from Wrexham attended the scene.

The incident resulted in the early closure of the out-patients department.

Fire crews also used breathing apparatus to tackle the spill on Wednesday evening, and disposed of the substance.

A man has sufferd serious burns to his face in a chemical spill on Merseyside.

The 44-year-old was hurt in the incident at the premises of SAFC in Bromborough in Wirral shortly after 08:00 GMT.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue, Merseyside Police, North West Ambulance and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) all attended the spill, which has been contained.

A joint police and HSE investigation has been launched.

A ROAD was closed and a cordon put in place after a chemical leak at an engineering company in Lakeside, Redditch.

The incident happened just after 6pm on Sunday night.

Concerned residents living near Samuel Taylor Ltd in Arthur Street had reported the incident, which involved a leak of liquid nitrogen from a large tank at the premises. Two fire crews attended along with a Hazmat (Hazardous Materials) officer, the Incident Response Unit from Droitwich and the Environmental Protection Unit from Stourport. Police also attended.

Station commander Steve Fox from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said: “We arrived to find a large liquid nitrogen tank venting at the base, with the liquefied gas producing a fog or vapour cloud in the cold night air.

“We liaised closely with the owners of the factory as we assessed the level of risk, and set up a road closure and a cordon around the premises as a precautionary measure.

A CHEMICAL leak during a classroom accident sparked fears over the health of two Tyneside students.

A sixth form class at Walbottle Campus in Newcastle, was conducting an experiment when a student dropped a container of the toxic substance, bromine.

The chemical, which smells like bleach, is poisonous and can cause breathing problems, coughing fits, headaches, dizziness and vomiting.

It was feared two students, a lab assistant and a teacher, who were nearest the spillage, had inhaled the fumes.

Paramedics were called out to the school immediately after the incident at about noon.

The remaining seven students in the class were checked over on the spot and given the all-clear.

A blaze broke out at Rainham Mark Grammar School in the early hours of this morning - destroying the science block.

Firefighters battled against thick black acrid smoke to stop it spreading to other buildings at the school in Pump Lane.

It is believed it was sparked by a faulty battery tester in the laboratory.

Head teacher Simon Decker said: “I can’t thank the fire crews enough. They were here within three minutes and averted what could have been a real disaster as we keep a lot of chemicals in rooms near by.”

Twelve firefighters from Medway wearing breathing apparatus used a  special fan to pump air into the block to prevent an explosion.

A beautician is being treated for shock after vapours from nail varnish remover caught fire from a candle in an Edinburgh shop.

An ambulance was called to treat the 46-year-old following the incident at Moi in Comiston Road.

Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue was called to the fire just after 13:00 and it was extinguished by 13:46.

The incident happened after the acetone was spilled and the vapours caught light.

Fire fighters are battling flames and toxic smoke after laminating chemicals caused a barn to go up in flames.
Crews from St Ives, Huntingdon, Cambridge and a Hazardous Materials Unit from St Neots were called at 2pm to the blaze at Main Hall Farm in Conington, near St Ives.
The fire at one end of the single storey barn measuring approximately 60 metres by 20 metres involves chemicals used for laminating.
Residents living in the Conington area are advised to keep doors and windows shut to avoid toxic smoke.

A chemical spill forced the closure of a residential road for three hours last night.

Fifteen fire engines from across south-west London rushed to Elm Crescent, in Kingston, after a battery in a CCTV van overheated and corrosive acid leaked into the road.

VIRGIN Active gym and Grant's shopping centre in Croydon town cente were evacuated this morning (Monday) after an incident concerning chemicals.

It is understood a worker cleaning the toilets mixed several chemicals together, which created a noxious gas.

AN inferno at York University chemistry laboratories last Thursday attended by crews from across the region including one from Selby battled the fire for more than four hours.

A total of 11 engines including a Selby Red Watch crew were scrambled to the scene at 1.08pm as they fought to stop the fire spreading to nearby buildings.

More than 300 square metres of damage were caused to the roof but no chemicals were ignited. Aerial platforms, ten breathing apparatus, CO2 extinguishers and thermal image cameras were used.

HUNDREDS of students at a flagship faculty in one of Scotland’s biggest universities face indefinite disruption to their courses after a fire ripped through a city centre campus.

Engineering lectures and seminars at the University of Strathclyde have been postponed following the blaze on Tuesday evening at the James Weir building in Glasgow’s Montrose Street. The student who reported the fire told The Scotsman yesterday he feared there would be a “large explosion,” given that it broke out in a department containing laboratories with hazardous chemicals.

More than twenty fire vehicles were called to the University of Strathclyde last night after a blaze broke out at the Glasgow-based campus.

Students were evacuated from four buildings after fire and rescue crews were called to the James Weir Building on Montrose Street shortly after 7pm.

The fire is believed to have started on the third floor of James Weir where the Department of Chemical Engineering labs are based, though the university was quick to rule out a chemical explosion.

There have been no reported casualties with university security and fire and rescue crews praised for the rapid response to the blaze.

Classes inside James Weir have been cancelled for the rest of this week while plans are being made to arrange alternative accommodation following a meeeting of the University's Emergency Management Team this morning.

The victims of a chemical spill on Merseyside have been discharged from hospital.

The spill occured at the Royal Seaforth Container Base near Crosby Road South in Sefton on Monday afternoon.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service's Hazardous Material Units were used to contain the spillage.

Twenty-one people were taken to Liverpool's Aintree University Hospital after inhaling fumes. They were treated for nausea and headaches.

Merseyside Fire Service used dry sand to contain and absorb the chemicals.

IRE crews were called to a chemical spill at The Herons leisure centre in Haslemere on Monday morning (January 30).

Reports of the incident came in at 8.40am and firefighter Dom Spooner said: "We were contacted by the Environment Agency after a container of the chemical used for disinfecting the pool leaked overnight."

He said it was a container of sodium hypochlorite, which is used in small concentrations in the swimming pool, adding that some of the liquid had entered the waste drains.

The chemical is used for disinfecting and oxidising water, and is what gives off the smell of chlorine. It is not harmful to people in the low concentrations used in pools. However, in higher doses it can cause red eyes and irritation.

Between 500 and 600 litres of the chemical had spilled out, the fireman added, saying that none had got into rivers or streams through the drains but would have been taken directly to the sewage treatment centre.

HUNDREDS of people had to be evacuated when a major blaze broke out at university chemistry laboratories.

Six fire engines were called to tackle the fire at the York University chemistry block on Alcuin Way, Heslington yesterday afternoon.

The alarm was raised at 12.45pm, when smoke was spotted coming from the roof of the department’s B-block, which houses teaching laboratories.

The fire is believed to have started in a chemical fumes cabinet and then spread through the building, prompting 400 people to be evacuated.

A spokeswoman for the university said the department acted to put special safety procedures for the laboratories in place, as they house a wide range of chemicals. Gas supplies to the rooms were also isolated.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The university has put in place the emergency plans they have for incidents like this.”

Fire investigator Trevor Lund said there were some ‘quite challenging’ chemicals in the building, but gave credit to staff at the site for isolating the majority of the major fire risks and providing fire crews with instructions about the risks involved.

The fire was brought under control by about 3pm.

Three members of staff were overcome by fumes when a fridge at a care home leaked ammonia gas.

Firefighters were called to the residential care unit at Clermiston House on Parkgrove Terrace in Edinburgh when the leak was spotted by night staff who noticed an unusual smell in a downstairs office at 4.15am on Thursday.

EMERGENCY services from across the area are currently dealing with a potentially dangerous chemical spill at West Burton power station, near Gainsborough.

Fire crews from Retford, Misterton and Gainsborough and an Environmental Protection Unit from Stockhill are currently dealing with the spillage of hydrazine at the power station on Gainsborough Road in West Burton.

Hydrazine is a flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odour and is also highly toxic and can be dangerously unstable unless handled in solution.

A VILLAGE was sealed off earlier today after a chemical suicide bid turned a home into a potential death scene.

Firefighters, paramedics, police and an ambulance hazardous area response team (HART) rushed to Chippinghurst, near Garsington, at about 7am.

The entire village was sealed off and residents were told not to leave their homes after a 23-year-old man filled his house with the killer gas hydrogen sulphide.

He was found gasping for breath by his father who immediately called the police and paramedics.

The incident ended with the suicidal man being taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Fire brigade officials refused to discuss the incident and referred all calls to the police.

WHAT was described as a ‘minor’ chemical accident at Grove Academy on Friday morning led to eight pupils and a teacher being taken to Ninewells Hospital.

The incident took place within a science laboratory at the Broughty Ferry secondary school.

The exact circumstances surrounding what occurred are not known but it believed that the chemical bromine was involved.

A dry cleaning factory in Basingstoke has been damaged after a fire broke out on the premises yesterday (25thJanuary).

Fire crews were called to Johnsons Apparelmaster on the West Ham Industrial Estate at 10.30am to tackle a blaze which began in one of the industrial cleaning machines, reports the Basingstoke Gazette.

Sixteen firefighters attended the incident and had to wear special gas pipe suits to enter the building due to the presence of the potentially harmful perchloroethylene chemical.

Watch manager John Amos told The Gazette: "The fire itself was not particularly serious, but the problem is that the chemicals that they use in dry cleaning, when combined with fire, produce phosgene gas.

A HOSPITAL building resumed normal operation last night after a chemical false alarm caused an evacuation.

A building at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh was emptied after a leaking container of dry ice was found.

The alarm was raised when the milk bottle-sized container was found in a fridge. It appears the lid was not securely fastened, allowing the smoke-like gas to escape from the bottle. The building was cleared for around an hour while firefighters investigated.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called to a report of a chemical incident. When we arrived, we found a bottle of liquid nitrogen which a member of staff had put in a fridge.

“The bottle was inspected and appeared to be in a safe condition, so it was handed back to hospital staff.”

CONCERNS remain following the end of the investigation into the May 2010 fire at Grosvenor Chemicals in Linthwaite.

Safety watchdogs have admitted their views on the catastrophic fire were restricted because of legal issues.

But Colne Valley councillors have said there are still worries about the firm and over a steep access road used by all vehicles to and from the site.

They spoke out following a meeting of Kirklees Council when a report on the aftermath of the blaze was presented.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Rom Naplocha said that the inquiry was over, but there would be no final report.

Inspectors were limited in what they were able to divulge, due to the possibility of legal proceedings and because of commercial confidentiality.

A CORDON set up in Stowmarket as fire crews dealt with a chemical leak at a factory has been lifted.

The leak comes three days after a similar incident at PPG Industries, in Needham Road.

Police confirmed there had been another leak at the paint factory this afternoon and that firefighters were on scene.

A road closure was put in place at Needham Road and police had urged residents in the immediate area to stay indoors. At 7pm the cordon and road closure were lifted.

Between 500 and 1,000 litres of hazardous liquid was spilled according to reports from fire crews on scene.

Firefighters have warned residents not to use sharp objects to defrost freezers after being called to a "chemical incident" last night.

The fire brigade was called to a home in Rackham Mews, near the Streatham end of Mitcham Lane, at about 9.30pm yesterday, whose occupant became alarmed when he punctured a hole in his freezer.

Refridgerators contain a liquid chemical called Freon, which can escape as gas if there is a puncture and settle in the lungs, causing health problems, if inhaled.

A spokesman for Tooting fire station said: "We get called out to these kinds of incidents, which are reported as chemical incidents, more often than you would think.

"A leak to a fridge can be dangerous and residents are right to call us if they are concerned.

"But we would urge anyone defrosting their freezer not to use a sharp knife to scrape off the ice. Just turn it off and wait a couple of hours and that should be enough."

The company at the centre of a chemical leak in Northamptonshire has said it is a "mystery" why two workers collapsed while working with "non-hazardous chemicals".

AmegA Sciences based on the Royal Oak Estate in Daventry said the staff were taken to Northampton General Hospital.

John Walton, a director at AmegA, said "The two employees were diagnosed with low haemoglobin levels."

The two men are under observation but are expected to make a full recovery.

Both Northamptonshire Fire Service and the company's laboratory are investigating what happened.

FIREFIGHTERS have left the scene of a chemical spill at a paint company’s premises.

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Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service sent nine appliances and 45 firefighters to PPG Industries UK Ltd based in Needham Road, Stowmarket, just after 2pm to deal with the solvent leak which was caused by a mechanical failure on the water cooling system in the resin plant.

The service’s group commander Ian Bowell said: “This incident has been contained on site thanks to the work of the on site staff at PPG and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

“During the incident we worked closely with the Environment Agency and are pleased to say that all internal drainage systems have done their job containing any contaminated water on site for removal at a later date.

STAFF at a distribution centre in Redditch raised the alarm after a hazardous substance began leaking form a tank.

Workers at Langdons on Park Farm Industrial Estate on Studley Road noticed a strong smell of ammonia about 1.30am on Saturday (January 7) and alerted fire crews.

Firefighters wearing specialist chemical protective clothing went into the building to investigate and found the chemical leaking from a 1,000 litre tank in a plant room.

Using hose reels and a covering jet, they isolated the leak and ventilated the plant room affected.

Station commander Dave Holland, HWFRS’s Hazmat (hazardous materials) officer, said: “Duty staff had noticed a strong smell of ammonia from the plant room and so had safely evacuated the premises as our crews arrived.

Twenty one people have been taken to hospital after a chemical spill at a warehouse.

The incident occurred at Palletways in Livingston, West Lothian, at around 8.15am on Tuesday.
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It I believed the casualties are complaining of breathlessness and similar problems since the spillage, although no one was seriously injured.

Part of MacIntosh Road has been cordoned off as the fire services begins to scale down its presence at the scene, after six appliances were sent out to deal with it.

The spillage inside the premises has been deemed safe by the fire service, while the one outside the building has been cordoned off. The chemical involved was understood to be denatonium benzoate, which is included in products such as shampoos and liquid soaps.

A mass evacuation following a suspected gas leak left dozens of Colliers Wood residents stranded in the street for more than an hour.

Houses in Marlborough Road, Wilton Road and Norfolk Road were evacuated shortly after 8am on December 31, when several fire engines and police cars swooped on the scene.

Karla Kannides, of Marlborough Road, said: “When I looked out the window I thought someone had been murdered.”

The incident was first considered highly serious by authorities but, following an investigation by a specialist chemical unit, the hazardous substance was identified as paint thinner.

The evacuation was ordered after Merton police were called by the London Ambulance Service to help an elderly man who had fallen over in a house on Marlborough Road.

Police officers broke down the door of the property at around 7.20am to reach the man but when they detected a smell like paraffin, they called the fire brigade.

The elderly man made his own way out of the property and was treated by an ambulance crew at the scene.

FIREFIGHTERS were called to an animal hospital this morning after reports of a chemical smell in the building.

Four fire engines and a number of specialist fire vehicles were called to the PDSA Pet Hospital in Woodford Bridge Road shortly after 8.15am.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: “We were called at 8.16am to reports of a smell of chemicals at an animal treatment centre on Woodford Bridge Road.

“The incident was over just after 10am.

"The smell was caused by a leaking domestic fridge which was removed to the open air.

"The building was ventilated. No elevated chemical readings were recorded inside."

A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said: "We treated three people at the scene, but none of them required hospital treatment."

FIRE crews were called to an explosion at an industrial unit in Verwood on Thursday afternoon.

Crews from Verwood, Ferndown, Ringwood and the Environmental Support Unit from Poole arrived at Ebblake Industrial Estate just after 4.30pm and 25 firefighters tackled the blaze.

The fire involved a small chemical cleaning plant which had malfunctioned, causing a small explosion and a fire involving chemicals.

Thirty people evacuated at Penryn after fire took hold at a boatyard, are back in their homes.
Four chemical drums caught fire first thing on Tuesday morning at Islington Wharf.
Diversions had to be set up amid road closures in the town. Commercial Road, Church Road and Church Hill are now open again. Some drivers had been reporting delays of around half an hour to get from Penryn to Falmouth.
Fire crews say the situation is now under control and flames are out. A spokesperson for the council said, "The scene has now been left in the hands of the owners who will continue to monitor levels of phosphine throughout the day. The levels are now considered safe. Residents living on the houseboats within the boatyard will be able to return to their homes later today after fire officers have conducted a final check to confirm the drums pose no further threat to the public."

Firefighters are tackling a chemical fire in a Cornwall boatyard.

Five fire crews are tackling a blaze at Islington Wharf in Penryn, near Falmouth, Cornwall Fire and Rescue said.

A spokeswoman confirmed there were chemicals in gas cylinders involved in the fire, which started shortly before 6am on Tuesday.

BBC Cornwall said there were unconfirmed reports that one or more drums of the fertiliser phosgene - which was used as a chemical weapon during World War One - were involved.

"The fire is now under control, a 100m cordon has been set up in the boatyard because of the gas cylinders," the spokeswoman added.

An Aberdeen street has been closed as emergency services deal with a "significant" chemical spill.

Emergency crews wearing special gas-tight suits are trying to contain the spill at Kirkhill Drive in Dyce, Aberdeen.

The street has been closed but a police spokeswoman said nobody had been injured and there were no evacuations as a result of the spill.

Some staff in the nearby Rolls Wood Group building are unable to leave as Kirkhill Drive is their only exit from work.

A fire spokesman said two 25-litre drums containing ammonium bisulphite, a corrosive liquid, had leaked onto the street from an ARR Craib Transport lorry coming from the Altens area.

Eddie Anderson, ARR Craib managing director, said the lorry was being hired by another company to transport the chemical drums.

"The driver was en route and noticed a leakage when he stopped," he said.

A 51-year-old man from Coventry was taken to hospital after being overcome by chemical fumes while attempting to clean his house on Sunday.

The man brushed a sulphuric acid compound on bathroom tiles at the property in Brays Lane before spraying bleach over the top.

A spokesman for West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service said the two combined to give off a "pungent gas".

Two other people in the house were unaffected by the fumes.

Bill Gough from the fire service said the man, who has since recovered, called them at about 15:00 GMT and that firefighters wearing breathing apparatus had diluted the mixture.

"What we would say to people is read the labels on the tins, bottles and jars of these particular chemicals because they do give in their instructions for use a warning that they shouldn't be used with any other cleaning fluids," Mr Gough added.

Firefighters tackled a chemical spill at Medway Maritime Hospital this morning.

Crews from Strood and Medway fire stations were called just after 7am to the hospital in Windmill Road, Gillingham.

An unknown quantity of a chemical was spilled and contained within one room while firefighters and specialists from the hospital carried out a risk assessment.

Fire crews went into the room in gas tight suits and breathing apparatus at 8.45am and the chemical was safely cleaned up by 9.30am.

A fire service spokesman would not say what the chemical was or how it was thought to have been spilt.

The spokesman added: "Firefighters were called as a precaution to reports of a minor chemical spill.

Five people, four men and one women walking on the road side, outside the Grosvenor Hotel, near to Buckingham Palace were sprayed with sulphuric acid. The acid was being into a lorry when it started leaking from lorry’s back side.

These passersby were so close that they inhaled the acid and soon started to exhibit the reaction. They complaint of headache and sore throat on which three ambulance crews, response team, police and the fire brigade were called on the scene.

They attended them and gave first aid and took them to St Thomas’ Hospital, where they are being treated. It is said that vehicles which crossed the road at that moment elevated the level of acid.

Fire Brigade spokesperson present on the scene also affirmed the same thing that they received complaint about the lorry acid spill and when they reached at the spot, vehicles has made the scene even more awful.

WORKERS at Dowty Propellers factory in Staverton were evacuated after a chemical drum became unstable.

More than 35 firefighters were called to the scene at 3.30pm yesterday after a chemical reaction in the drum threatened to cause it to burt spilling hazardous liquid and creating a volatile vapour cloud.

​
Chemical incident at Dowty Propellers 1
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Firefighters from Gloucester and Cheltenham Fire Stations rushed to the scene. They were supported by crews from Cirencester and Stroud, who are specialists in decontaminating firefighters and protecting the environment.

Fire crews were supported by Great Western Ambulance Service, in case of injury, and Gloucestershire Police, who closed-off the scene.

IRE fighters are tackling a chemical spill that has caused huge traffic delays this morning.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) cannot confirm what kind of chemical the drum contains but has up to five fire engines and four chemical teams tackling the spill at Charlie Brown Roundabout in South Woodford, after being called on scene at 7.30am.

The drum was also letting off fumes.

A CITY centre gym has been accused of putting their staff, the public and firefighters lives at risk after leaking dangerously high levels of swimming pool chemicals into the air.

LA Fitness, in North Road, Brighton denies two offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The case follows an incident where chlorine gas and chemical fumes caused the area around the gym to have to be evacuated, in August 2010.

Chlorine gas levels in the air were dangerously high and left emergency workers called to the scene feeling ill.

The incident could have been “potentially fatal” Hove Crown Court was told yesterday.

The chemicals in the air were the result of overloading of chemicals into the spa pool.

The water levels of chlorine could have been “harmful to babies”.

FORTY firefighters were called to deal with a chemical leak at a Luton sandwich factory on Saturday morning.

The incident occurred at Hain Celestial’s premises (formerly Daily Bread Ltd) in Britannia Estates, Leagrave Road, when a quantity of sodium hypochlorite leaked from a container, at around 8.30 a.m.

Five fire appliances and a number of specialist support vehicles from Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Services (BLFRS) were sent to the scene, together with the ambulance service and police.

Workers in the sandwich making plant and adjacent factory units on Britannia Estate were evacuated and Leagrave Road was closed as emergency crews arrived to deal with the spillage. No local residents were evacuated.

Representatives from the Environment Agency and Thames Water also attended the scene as there were concerns that the chemical, a bleach, which had entered the on site drainage system, might enter the water courses, if not contained.

FIREFIGHTERS were called to deal with  chemical incident in Harlow on Monday (October 31) after a forklift truck collided with two heavy duty truck batteries on charge, causing one to explode.
Crews from Harlow, Old Harlow, Waltham Abbey and two from Loughton were sent to Sims Recycling on the River Way Industrial Estate at 11am. When they arrived they found one of the batteries was leaking to and two people had suffered injuries.
Crews safely dealt with the incident by 11.49am and the casualties were placed in the care of the ambulance service.

FIREFIGHTERS spent more than 12 hours battling a huge blaze after wooden fuel pellets burst into flames.

The 200-tonne stockpile of biomass pellets, at Port of Tyne’s Tyne Dock, South Shields, caught fire early yesterday.

The fuel is understood to have spontaneously combusted following a chemical reaction within a concrete storage unit.

More than 30 firefighters from stations in South Tyneside and Gateshead were called to the scene and battled to put out the fire, deep within the huge stockpile of fuel.

North Wales firefighters were called at 14:23 BST on Saturday to deal with a fire in a refrigerator at an industrial unit at Lon Groes, Gaerwen, Anglesey.

People nearby were for a time urged to stay indoors and keep their windows and doors closed after some ammonia leaked into the atmosphere.

The fire service are investigating, but it is not thought to be suspicious.

A number of emergency vehicles were sent to the scene, including three fire engines from Bangor, Holyhead and Llangefni.

CONTAINERS of suspected chemicals found dumped in a busy residential area of Inverness have been removed by a specialist company.
A probe was launched on Wednesday following the discovery of the containers in the Culduthel area.
Firefighters, Highland Council, police and SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) were called in on Wednesday morning to inspect several drums of unidentified liquids found by a shocked council by-election candidate as he was canvassing for votes close to Inverness Royal Academy.
Ken Gowans, SNP candidate for Highland Council's Inverness South ward, feared the five 20-litre bottles of brown and clear liquids could get into the wrong hands, and demanded their immediate removal.

Firefighters were called to London Road in Cheltenham after a chemical leak.

At 9.48pm, crews were sent out to the street after a call from the Great Western Ambulance Service informed them of an incident inside a Veterinary lab.

A spokesman said: "Two fire appliances with nine firefighters from Cheltenham fire station and two station managers attended the incident.

"At 11.03pm Watch Manager Nick Chandler stated that the leak of Halothane gas which is used as an anaesthetic had been made safe by the fire service using two breathing apparatus and a fan to assist with ventilation. A member of staff who was working in the area was taken to hospital for observation.

500 people have been evacuated from a University College London building because of a chemical spill.

40 firefighters were called to Gordon Street in the centre of town at 2 o'clock this afternoon (Monday 24th).

London Fire Brigade tell us the spill is in a science lab on the third floor of the building - but aren't yet sure what it is.

The Health and Safety Executive has prosecuted Thor Specialities Ltd as a result of a potentially fatal chemical reaction at its plant in Wincham, Northwich on 23 August 2007.

An employee at the plant had been mixing solid and liquid chemicals which eventually caused the release of both toxic and flammable substances into the workplace laboratory.

The employee had continued to mix the chemicals together after mistakenly presuming that as there was no initial reaction to the mixing process that it was safe to continue doing so.

However the chemical reaction suddenly got out of control and generated the hazardous substances into the working environment. The chemicals had reacted so rapidly that it became impossible for the employee to bring the situation safely under control and he had to flee the building.

A primary school and a number of homes were evacuated after police found "a small quantity of unknown chemical" in a Nottinghamshire house.

A 320ft (100m) cordon was placed around the property on Central Avenue in Mapperley Top as a precaution.

Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on Thursday afternoon.

Several roads were closed but have since reopened and people have been allowed to return to their homes.

Workers are being checked over after a chemical spill at a recycling centre in Fife.

Fire crews, ambulance and police were called at around midday on Tuesday after the nitric acid was spilt at Wellwood Recycling Plant near Dunfermline.

Nine people had to be taken to hospital to be treated after they inhaled the fumes from the fluid.


The area around the container has been cordoned off and workers who may have come into contact with or inhaled the fluid are being checked over.

The 10 litres of fluid is 68% nitric acid and cannot be cleaned up by firefighters, who are having to call in specialist company.

AN investigation is being conducted into a chemical incident which left 35 people needing medical attention and three in hospital in Somersham today (Friday).

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A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said officers were making enquiries and would be conducting an investigation into the incident at Phoenix Door Panels Limited in the West Newlands Industrial Estate.

Workers were left feeling nauseous, light headed and weak after inhaling a chemical sprayed on an adjacent field.

All staff were told to leave the premises - around 70 were thought to be at the site. They were allowed to return to work around 12.30pm.

Bomb disposal experts have carried out a controlled explosion after police found "a small quantity of unknown chemical" in a Nottinghamshire house.

A 320ft (100m) cordon was placed around the property on Central Avenue in Mapperley Top as a precaution on Thursday morning.

Police were carrying out a search at the house near Nottingham when they found the substance.

Chlorine gas escaped at a Gloucester school, causing a massive emergency response.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Control were called at 12.17pm on October 7 to reports of a chemical release at Crypt School, Podsmead Road.

A spokesman said: "Two fire appliances complete with nine firefighters attended the scene to investigate the alert.

"After initial investigation it was confirmed that the incident had been caused by a leak of Chlorine Gas and the area was vented by the school and Fire Service staff.

"Watch Manager Wright from Gloucester station stated that the leak was caused unintentionally by the school laboratory technician when preparing chemicals for lessons later that day."

A number of workers have been injured as a result of a major explosion on an industrial estate in Lingfield, Surrey, UK

Surrounding businesses and homes are reported to have shaken as three separate blasts occurred at around 11:30 am GMT on Monday 3rd October 2011 at Hobbs Industrial Estate near Lingfield. Many local workers have been evacuated as flames and billowing clouds of black smoke rise from the scene of devastation.

Six ambulances, 12 fire appliances, an air ambulance & several Police cars attended, saying that the explosion had been declared a major incident but the cause of the explosion was as yet unknown. Although it is suspected to have been caused by chemicals from recycling toner cartridges. One person has been airlifted to Kings College Hospital, London suffering from severe burns.

It is thought the fire started on the ground floor of a unit, there are large numbers of gas cylinders on the site and crews are fighting to bring it under control. 

A BLAZE has broken out in a unviersity department housing dozens of chemicals.
 
Firefighters are in attendance trying to combat the fire which has taken hold at the Earth Sciences department of Downing College, in Downing Street, in the city centre.
 
Three fire engines, a turntable appliance and a specialist chemical unit were called out to the blaze at at 8.59pm.
 
The fire is not in contact with any chemicals at this stage and police are in attendance to assist firefighters in making the scene safe.

Firefighters were called to a Carlisle school after toxic chemical was spilled and started giving off gas.

They had to smash a window to deal with the small spill at the Richard Rose Central Academy, in Victoria Place.

Crews in two fire engines were called to the school at about 2.15pm yesterday.

A window had to be smashed to ventilate the room after the bromide, which is corrosive and toxic, started giving off gas.

The alert was raised by a lab technician, who noticed that the lid on a bottle bromide was corroded and some of the chemical had leaked out.

Staff immediately locked the room and firefighters were called.

Central academy headteacher Russ Wallace said: “In consultation with the fire service, the decision was taken to break a window which would then assist the internal ventilation system and speed up the fumigation process.

“The fire team, while complimenting the science technician on her quick and speedy response, advised that the area be taped off and adjoining classes relocated until Monday.”

Fire crews were called to the University of Reading today when a chemical accident caused a fire.

Three fire engines and a specialist chemical unit were sent to the Chemistry Building after the alarm was raised at 1.27pm and the building was evacuated.

According to Crew Manager Lee Glover of the chemical unit, a student accidentally dripped water from a lid into a jar of sodium hydride which reacted and caught fire.

He said: "I think she then panicked and dropped it causing burnt patches on the floor.

"The room then filled with a toxic gas."

Three fire fighters wearing breathing apparatus went into the lab to contain the chemical and make it safe.

FIREFIGHTERS were tackling a chemical alert at a North-East factory unit this afternoon.

Reports were received of the chemical release from Rayovac Micro Power Ltd, at Washington, shortly after 2pm.

Chemical fumes were said to be coming from a waste storage unit within the factory, which produces batteries for hearing aids, on Stephenson Industrial Estate.

Staff at a factory in Cambridgeshire were recently forced to evacuate when a potentially lethal chemical spill injured two workers; triggering a massive response from emergency services.


Omega Foundry Machinery’s employees fled their building when a chemical, originally thought to be ammonia, oozed out of a broken pipe.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue mobilised its specialist hazardous materials (hazmat) crews from St. Neots as well as two other engines and a rescue vehicle, with about 20 firefighters on the scene.

Two workers were treated at the scene by paramedics for minor inhalation of fumes. The hazmat team initially believed that they were dealing with 50 litres of ammonia, but it was later confirmed to be about 10 litres and thought to be triethylamine.

Triethylamine is extremely flammable and readily forms explosive mixtures with air.

The hazmat team set up a decontamination area outside the factory which could be used to clean off anyone who went inside.

Firefighters in full protective clothing entered the building and used sand to soak-up the liquid to make the scene safe.

The Health and Safety Executive has said that it had not yet been informed of the incident.

FIREFIGHTERS who dealt with chemicals burning in a skip in Pebsham warned they might be “highly toxic” according to a worried resident.

She contacted the Observer to say tins inside the skip were burning all weekend and the fire was not put out until Bank Holiday Monday in the late afternoon.

Afterwards members of the Bexhill fire crew warned people living near to the light industrial site to be aware fumes could have been harmful.

She said; “We called the fire crew out because the fire had been going for a couple of days.

“We are just not happy about this. They were concerned about residents because of the type of materials being burned so they even put the hospital on alert.”

She reported there had been “a lot of smoke” during Saturday and Sunday and “when you went out, it caught your breath”.

She added: “We weren’t at risk because it was too far from where we live but it was still close enough, because apparently whatever was in there was resin which sends out toxic plumes which you don’t necessarily see but which you can inhale.”

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service were alerted at 5.15pm on Monday and stayed until 7.04pm to make sure the fire was under control.

ESFRS confirmed this week the skip contained chemical substances and said some locals who spoke to firefighters at the scene complained of experiencing sore throats and headaches and expressed concern that the smoke may be toxic.

A POTENTIALLY lethal chemical spill injured two workers at a factory yesterday prompting an evacuation and a massive response from emergency services.

Staff at Omega Foundry Machinery Ltd, in Stapledon Road, Orton Southgate, were forced to flee their building when a chemical, originally thought to be ammonia, oozed out of a broken pipe at about 11.30am yesterday.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue mobilized its specialist hazardous materials (hazmat) crews from St Neots as well as two other engines and a heavy rescue vehicle, with about 20 firefighters on the scene.

Two workers, who have not been named, were treated at the scene by paramedics for minor inhalation of fumes.

The hazmat team initially believed they were dealing with 50 litres of ammonia, but it was later confirmed to be about 10 litres and thought to be triethylamine.

The chemical is similar to ammonia and has a strong fishy odour which could be smelled on the industrial estate.

A GYNAECOLOGY ward at Lewisham Hospital had to be evacuated because of a chemical incident yesterday (August 23).

Patients and staff were transferred to another part of the fifth floor of A-block at University Hospital Lewisham at around 9.40am yesterday morning after refrigerant gas began leaking from a fridge.

Specialist firefighter crews were called in and removed the fridge from a utility room, just off the ward.

Wearing breathing apparatus they double bagged the fridge so no more gas could escape before using the fire lift to get it out of the building.

Two workers from a hospital in Essex are being treated for the effects of a chemical spillage.

The incident happened at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford where they were exposed to acidic chemical fumes following a spillage in a storage area.

Fire crews were called to the incident on Saturday afternoon involving a canister of the citrus fragranced solvent d-Limonene.

Firefighters said the spillage was small and straightforward to deal with.

Police and firefighters were called at 08:50 BST after around 500 litres of copper carbonate leaked from a parked container on the A470 near Storey Arms.

About 250 litres ran into surface water drains and the Beacon Reservoir.

Officers from Environment Agency Wales said there has been "minimal impact to fish life".

The spill has so far had a localised impact on wildlife, with seven dead fish reported where the chemical entered the reservoir.

John Harrison, of Environment Agency Wales, said the lack of damage was "thanks to the vehicle driver who acted quickly to help contain the spill".

Surface drainage system

The agency said it will continue to monitor Beacon Reservoir and the nearby stream to make sure there is no further impact over the next few days.

The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the leak was contained with the help of the Environment Agency.

The road was closed for about three hours.

Fire service hazardous materials officer David Sheppard said: "Crews were called to leak of approximately 500 litres of copper carbonate from a ruptured bulk container.

"The leakage entered the surface drainage system, but was contained using Environment Agency grab packs, dam mats, and absorbent granules.

"Six sets of breathing apparatus were used, along with hazardous material decontamination equipment."

A man has died after he became unwell while working at an industrial estate.
It is understood the man, believed to be in his 30s, had collapsed inside a chemical tank he had been working in.
Four fire engines, a heavy rescue unit and an ambulance were sent to the scene at Diamond Wheels Technologies in Baird Avenue, Dryburgh Industrial Estate, in Dundee.
He was taken to Ninewells Hospital in the city, where he died a short time later.
Two other members of staff at the alloy wheel business, who had gone to their colleague's aid, were assessed at the scene by an ambulance crew before they were taken to the same hospital for checks.
Police said there are no concerns for their health at this time.
Emergency services were called at around 1.35pm on Thursday. A spokesman for Tayside Police said: "The area concerned was cordoned off and Tayside Fire and Rescue Service established a temporary exclusion zone around the affected area while the initial stages of the emergency were dealt with.