Twenty-six firefighters from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service responded to a chemical incident at a recycling plant in Deptford, Sunderland this morning.
A worker at the plant had collapsed after coming into contact with an unknown chemical. The casualty was taken to hospital, and six workers and a member of staff were decontaminated by paramedics on the scene. The site was evacuated and firefighters cordoned off the affected area.
Specialist hazardous materials officers from the Fire and Rescue Service worked with the National Chemical Emergency Centre to identify the chemical through packaging and labelling at the site.
Group Manager Keith Trotter, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Our first priority was to cordon off the area to ensure no one had any further contact with the chemical, then we worked on identifying the chemical so that the casualty could receive the appropriate treatment in hospital."
"The liaison between the Fire and Rescue Service, the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) from North East Ambulance Service, the site management and the National Chemical Emergency Centre was excellent and enabled the incident to be brought quickly to a successful conclusion."
The priority of the Ambulance Service was to liaise with the Fire and Rescue Service and identify the substance involved.
Incident commander Michael Hulme, North East Ambulance Service, said: “Our priority on scene was to prevent any further contamination to anyone else and triage staff on site who were in the vicinity of the incident. All of our agency partners including our Rapid Response Paramedic liaised to bring a safe and quick conclusion to this incident.”
Five fire appliances from Sunderland East Community Fire Station in Millfield, Sunderland North in Fulwell and Sunderland Central in Farringdon attended the incident, along with a specialist decontamination crew from Sunderland West in Washington and an operational support unit from Gateshead East, Low Fell.
The area of the site that was affected has been closed down until specialist cleaning and decontamination can be undertaken.
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