At the request of the RCMP, firefighters responded to a report of a car pulled over with a heavy chemical smell coming from the vehicle. On arrival, the police explained that they had pulled over a suspected impaired driver. When they got near the vehicle a very strong odour of chemicals was observed. Upon an inspection of the vehicle, several containers were located in the back of the van. Not sure of what was involved crews took no chances and called for the hazardous materials trailer to respond. Firefighters closed Sooke Rd between Drennan and Charters and set up the haz mat and decontamination gear on the roadway. Crews in Level B chemical suits moved in to clean out the van. It was determined that a large quantity of cleaning products were inside and that one large container had leaked, mixing with dry powdered bleach and other products thus producing potentially toxic gases. The containers were moved into secure storage and the van towed away for decontamination. The driver of the van refused medical treatment at the scene. One police officer was taken to hospital for observation after complaining of ill effects from being near the van. He was released later that night. After about two hours on scene, the site was cleared and ready for traffic.
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