Firefighters from the cities of Bothell, Kirkland, Bellevue and Woodinville all descended upon a Bothell business park due to an ammonia leak at Brooks Rand Labs along North Creek Parkway on Wednesday. The massive response stirred neighboring businesses. No one was hurt during the incident according to a Bothell Fore Department spokesperson.
“It was a minor leak, we were able to go in secure a valve, stop the leak – we did that and searched the building and made sure everyone was evacuated,” said Rich Christianson, Bellevue fire captain and Eastside Hazmat Team coordinator for King County Zone One.
The ammonia leak was in gaseous form and, being lighter than air, the ammonia was easy to clear out without requiring an evacuation of the surrounding area. The response level was ‘B’ for the danger level that it posed to the firefighters responding to the scene.
“It was a very minimal hazard for us. Ammonia [in gaseous form] is an inhalation hazard, so we had all of our gear on, we wore our self-contained breathing apparatus and didn’t need to get into any higher level of hazmat protection. We call that level B,” said Mark Peffer, acting fire chief for Bothell Fire and EMS. “If it was liquid then it becomes a highly concentrated liquid, then it’s much more dangerous. But at this point, being just a gas, it was pretty easy to deal with.”
While the firefighters responded quickly, they say it was the preparation of both the owners of the labs and the routine training firefighters undergo that led to this call being completed quickly and smoothly.
“This facility had a good containment system for dealing with their gases, and it worked, and they did a great job of getting everybody out and having their reps out here talking to us so we knew exactly what we were working with and what the systems were,” Peffer said. “There was a ventilation system active on the building that was keeping the concentration down.”
According to Pheffer, the leak was most likely accidental and the container that leaked has been removed from the building.
“We didn’t have to decon the building.” Peffer said. “The gas itself is lighter than air, so once we get it out of the building its over.”
Brooks Rand Labs, where the leak occurred, is an analytical service for trace amounts of metals.
