03-16-15 Firefighters Stop Chlorine Leak at Treatment Plant

The incident began around 6:00 p.m. yesterday in what's described as the chlorine building, which houses a number of one-ton cylinders of chlorine. When the leak occurred, the workers got out of the building and called 911. The Chattanooga Fire Department responded to the scene with several fire companies and the haz-mat team.

Deputy Chief Chris Adams said Hamilton County EMS transported the two employees to a local hospital. One of the employees was more seriously injured than the other. Their names were not released and an update on their condition was not available.

Chief Adams said an evacuation was not necessary because the leak was contained. The chlorine building has safety equipment called "scrubbers," which converts the chlorine into a harmless water vapor.

Though no chlorine was escaping into the atmosphere, the decision was made to enter the chlorine building and stop the leak if possible. Firefighters with the haz-mat team donned encapsulated suits, made their way into the chlorine building and were successful in stopping the leak around 7:40 last night.

Around 4:00 this morning, the haz-mat team was called back out to the plant when smoke was seen coming from the chlorine building. After a quick investigation, haz-mat personnel determine that there was no chlorine leak this time. Captain Terry Knowles with the haz-mat team said one of the scrubbers used to treat the chlorine last night apparently malfunctioned and became overheated. There was no leak and no hazard to the public.

In the photos:

#DSC 0049-001: After getting into their encapsulated suits, haz-mat technicians with the Chattanooga Fire Department walk toward the chlorine building, where they were able to get inside and shut off the leak.

#DSC 0018: A plume of smoke is visible coming the chlorine building. Fortunately, the scrubbers did their job in converting the chlorine into a harmless vapor, so there was no hazard to the public.