Firefighters talk outside of the downtown YMCA Friday before cleaning up a chemical spill inside.--NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker
One person was taken to hospital for precautionary reasons Friday after a chemical spill at the downtown YMCA.
Medicine Hat Fire Department platoon chief Kevin Heinrich told the News an unexpected chemical reaction caused the spill and that the building was closed for precautionary reasons.
“A call came in that there was a chlorine spill and everyone was out of the building when we got here,” he said. “The maintenance man was mixing chlorine with something else in order to get the pool’s pH level back up.
“We’re not sure what that other chemical was, but it may have been something different than he was expecting when he mixed them.”
A pair of firefighters suited up after 5:30 p.m. in hazmat suits to start cleaning up the spill, which was contained to a small area, said Heinrich.
“Our guys will go in there and overpack the chemicals and then we’re going to have another company get rid of whatever it is,” he said. “We’re going to clean everything up and air out the building so they can open up in the morning.
“The chemical inside is mostly contained to a small pail – we’re going to take that and put it in a larger one, seal it up and take it away – that’s overpacking.”
Heinrich estimated that the job would take two or three hours for firefighters.
