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HAZMAT | 71 Chemical suicide tests HART in Essex
At 8:48am on 20 September 2010 East of England HART were passed the details of an apparent chemical suicide in a car at the Springwood Drive Industrial Park in Braintree, Essex. Initial information suggested a vehicle with two occupants, both possibly dead, with signs on the window warning people not to enter as hazardous gases were present. A local RRV had attended the scene and quickly indentified the need for HART and made an initial assessment, from a safe distance, that both patients were showing no signs of life.
HART mobilised the forward reconnaissance vehicle and the USAR vehicle from the base and also one of the HART specific RRVs direct to scene. The second RRV returned, en-route, to the HART base to collect the communications vehicle. The HART supervisor, Gavin Turner, arrived on scene in the USAR vehicle with paramedic Gaynor Scaife at 9:22am. They quickly liaised with the on scene silver commanders from ambulance, fire and police.
Cordons established
Inner and outer cordons had been established and the surrounding industrial units evacuated. The fire crews were establishing an area for responder decontamination and preparing for an approach to the vehicle in Limited Life Gas Tight Suits (LLGTS) and breathing apparatus (BA). The HART RRV, Daniel Read, arrived on scene shortly after, followed by the forward reconnaissance vehicle crewed by Adam Pitcairn and me. We were tasked with setting up a forward kit dump close to the decontamination tent and the access to the Hot Zone. Standard clinical kit was deployed onto ground sheets to provide medical cover for the responders as well as LLGTS and BA for two wearers and the medical recce bag for deployment into the risk area. The command vehicle arrived, crewed by Michael Harrington, and was set up behind the kit dump allowing good access and egress alongside while being close enough to be of use for briefings and information.
The initial deployment plan was to commit teams of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and HART in LLGTS and BA to recover and recognise life extinct. However, due to the unknown nature of the gases involved and the need to preserve evidence for the ongoing police investigation, it was decided an initial recce by a HART operative with two members of Essex County FRS in BA was appropriate. The rationale was that any contaminate
was enclosed within the vehicle and as long as this was not opened it would not require LLGTS.
“Information flowed freely and we were able to demonstrate the capabilities and professionalism that HART can bring to inner cordon working.”
Real time evidence
Daniel Read committed in BA with the FRS team carrying a still camera and with the body-worn camera mounted on his helmet. While the FRS
crew assessed the vehicle and the environment Daniel was able to get up close to the car and get good visual observations of both patients, a male in the driver’s seat and a female in the passenger seat. Both appeared obviously dead with pallor, hypostasis and evidence of oral and nasal secretions. Evidence was gathered in real time via the body- worn camera and fed back to the communications vehicle where it could be monitored by the Silver commanders of all three services. This was especially useful as due to the physical environment and wind direction it was not possible to view the vehicle directly from the staging area. Observations concluded that there was a container with a substance in it on the floor in between the female’s legs and two further containers on the rear seat. It was identified that the signs on the vehicle read ‘DO NOT OPEN DANGER – WARNING HIGH CONCENTRATION POISON GAS H2S’. This information was used by the FRS Hazmat officers and the HART team leader to source information relevant to PPE levels and health risks. At this point the focus of the operation became centred on the recovery of the casualties in a safe and controlled manner while not disturbing evidence or risking the health of the responders and general public. Technical advice was provided by Dr David Irwin from the Health Protection Agency and by the Environment Agency.
DIM team
A Detection Identification and Monitoring (DIM) team from Kent Fire and Rescue Service arrived on scene and approached the vehicle in LLGTS and BA. They instantly had high readings for Hydrogen Sulphide inside the vehicle, however, once the vehicle was opened the gas dissipated and the readings fell to zero. Permissible levels of exposure are 10ppm (parts per million). High levels are 50- 200ppm, with the latter end being fatal. Death is as a result of respiratory failure occurring within seconds of inhalation. The chemical prevents cellular respiration and mostly affects the nervous system.
Emergency Services Times November 2010
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