Reigonal Haz Mat Training Exercise Held in Sooke

Sooke Fire Rescue Service hosted the first of a series of Greater Victoria area live training exercises for the CRD Hazardous Materials Team. In this scenerio a 100lb container of ammonia had fallen over and began leaking in the ice making room at the Seaparc Leisure Centre. Using a variety of props, a large gas cloud could be seen forming above the arena building. Sooke Firefighters arrived on scene with their small hazardous materials trailer but quickly realized that they had insufficient staff or equipment to deal with this emergency. As ammonia is a deadly gas, the arena and pool were quickly evacuated, Phillips Road closed to all traffic and nearby homeowners were told to leave or stay indoors with all their windows and doors closed. (all simulated). Sooke Firefighters set up decontamination equipment and called for help from the CRD Haz Mat team whose equipment is based in Central Saanich. (The CRD Haz Mat Team is comprised of members from Greater Victoria Fire Departments who have received extensive training and are certified Hazardous Materials Technicians - there are approximately 85 technicians within the CRD of which 6 are members of Sooke Fire Rescue) In this exercise, technicians from Sooke, Metchosin, Colwood, Saanich, Oak Bay and Central Saanich attended. With the arrival of the Hazardous Materials Truck, crews were put into Class A chemical suits and sent in to deal with the event. At the conclusion of this scenerio, crews broke for a lunch break and then went on to deal with a second scenerio that afternoon. This was a great training event for all the members, giving responders a chance to work with different groups and be better prepared for the real events when they occur.