MARLBOROUGH – What started out as a medical emergency call turned into a Tier 2 hazardous materials incident that began on Sept. 6, went well into Sept. 7 and prompted response by numerous agencies, including the FBI.
“There are times that routine calls turn out to be not so routine,” said Marlborough Assistant Chief Jeff Emanualson.
The Marlborough Public Safety Dispatch Center received a call at 2:59 p.m. reporting a medical emergency at the Sheffield Court Condominiums on Boston Post Road East.
The initial units sent to the call was Marlborough Engine 3 and Patriot EMS unit P-3. They arrived on scene at 3:05 p.m. and found a male patient, approximately 35-years-old, who had a suspected seizure. The patient was transported to Marlborough Hospital.
While on the scene, Marlborough Fire Department personnel found a large quantity of unlabeled and unknown substances throughout the unit. These substances resembled various forms of hazardous materials in various forms.
The officer of Engine 3 requested that Battalion Chief Ken MacEwen respond to the scene. MacEwen took command of the incident and requested a Tier 1 response from the Department of Fire Services District 3 Hazardous Materials Team.
A Tier 1 response brings in the Tactical Operations Module, also known as the TOMs unit, which is a truck that carries communications equipment, computer databases, meters, initial entry suits and other detection devices. It also brings a crew of firefighters who are members of the hazmat team to do an initial evaluation of the incident to try and identify the hazard.
Due to the quantity of materials, the response was upgraded to a Tier 2 incident, which brings the Operational Response Module, or the ORM unit, which is a truck that carries all kinds of hazmat suits and equipment to mitigate an incident. Additional Marlborough fire units responded.
The vast quantities of unknown and unlabeled substances triggered additional resources to respond to the scene for assessment and to evaluate potential dangers to emergency response personnel, the occupants of the other condo units in the building and the public.
There were 12 residents displaced, and they were given emergency shelter at a Best Western Hotel for the night.
A the time of this article, the incident was still ongoing, with personnel from various agencies performing incident standby, stabilization and mitigation.
It was hoped that the residents could return to their units as soon as possible.
In total, local agencies that responded included the Marlborough Fire Department, the Marlborough Police Department, Patriot EMS, Department of Public Works, Building Department, Board of Health and Mayor Arthur Vigeant’s office.
Federally, the FBI responded, and state-level response included the Department of Fire Services, Office of the State Fire Marshal, District 3 Hazardous Materials Response Team, Joint Hazard Incident Response Team, Department of Fire Services Special Operations, Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad/Explosives Ordinance Disposal, Department of Environmental Protection and Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office.
Information for this article provided by the Marlborough Fire Department.
