Advanced Laboratories; Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts | 1988-Jun-18

Initial Notification: At 1000 on June 17, 1988, a two-alarm fire broke out at the Advanced Laboratories, Inc. facility in Springfield, Massachusetts, where approximately 1,000 fiberboard drums containing 300 pounds each of trichloro-S-triazinetrione were stored. The fire was initially contained by the Springfield Fire Department, using only dry chemicals because the chemicals stored at the facility would react with water to produce considerable heat, releasing chlorine and other toxic fumes. At about midnight on the same day, a second fire broke out when the materials on site reacted with rainwater entering through damaged windows. The fire also set off the sprinkler system which added more water, escalating the chemical reaction. The old brick, stone, and wood timber mill facility that contained Advanced Laboratories was destroyed. The fire and chemical reactions also produced a moving and often invisible plume of wood smoke, choking chlorine, and other toxic gases that enveloped the fire scene and the surrounding area. Late on June 18, the fire increased in intensity with chemical containers occasionally exploding or otherwise reacting with water and/or the surrounding fire to produce large quantities of additional heat, chlorine, and other combustion gases. At approximately 1800 on June 18, the Springfield Fire Department elected to deluge the fire scene with huge quantities of water. The plume of chlorine and other combustion and reaction gases extended downwind for several miles in a north by northeast direction. USCG district 1.