At 19:37 hours, Station 20 was dispatched for a hazardous condition at 3902 Sardis Road. The caller reported mixing two different types of chlorine tablets that had different active ingredients. The caller heard popping noises coming from her swimming pool equipment and believed the tablets were causing a reaction. While enroute, Chief 20 requested the Westmoreland County Hazardous Materials Response Team (Team 800) to the scene. The Chief arrived on scene and established the Sardis Road command.
The crew from Rescue 20 was assigned to monitoring activities with the MSA 5 gas meters in the two story single family residence. The crew from Engine 20 was requested to the B side of the structure and to monitor the area of the backyard around the pool as well as the shed where the chlorine tablets were stored. The interior crew reported low VOC readings in the house and the exterior crew retrieved the chlorine tablet containers so that an identification of the products involved could be determined. Chief 20 contacted CHEMTREC and was put in contact with chemical engineers from both companies. With information from CHEMTREC and consulting with County 802, it was determined that the chlorine tablets would react with each other but that the reaction had most likely subsided due to the length of time that had transpired between when the homeowner placed the tablets in the pool equipment and when 911 was contacted.
Rescue 800 sent two hazmat technicians in level B suits to the rear of the house to retrieve the chlorine tablets from the pool equipment. A crew of two from Rescue 20 stood by as the RIT and a crew of two from Engine 20 setup a rapid decontamination station in case of any problems that the technicians may have encountered. The technicians determined that the reaction had subsided. With consultation from chemical engineers, the best course of action was to let the tablets dilute over the next three to four days and have the homeowner slowly add the solution to the pool. A final sweep of the residence found zero readings and the scene was turned back over to the homeowners.
