This came across my Facebook feed this morning. I thought I would share.
Its 2am and you wake up to pounding on your front door. This fightfighter tells you There is a chlorine gas cloud moving towards your neighborhood and you are have to evacuate now! Are you ready to bail? Do you have a go bag ready? Are the kids at a friend’s house or asleep? Does the car have gas in it? Do you even have a gas mask ready to put on? What do you do?
Last night this was real life for a large neighborhood in Sheffield. A chlorine gas tank exploded (leaked**) and a large cloud was incoming. It was a first for me as a police officer. I got the call at 2am and had to go door to door waking people like you up. I didnt have time to help you prep. You didnt have time. I had to go to the next house and tell them.
Not sure which firefighter this is. Hard to tell. But its Sheffield city and this is a doorbell camera taken last night during the incident. Lucky for us no one was hurt. Everything worked out in the end and the area was evacuated.
Are you ready?
Photo cred: Heather Hill-Hart
Firefighter: Justin Harrison, Sheffield Fire Department
update I learned this morning that the gas had leaked and was not from an exploded tank. That night as we went from house to house i was told by other first responders a tank had fallen and exploded. It’s impossible to know exactly what is going on during events like this. I made this post to raise awareness about preperation and show the reality of a situation that actually happened. That we have to work together as a community and be prepared ourselves to evacuate and help.
Gallons jugs of water frozen will keep 2-3 days in 70-80 degree weather if you keep it out of direct sunlight in a cooler. If you have a means to swap frozen jugs around for refreezing you can go longer.
Living in a semi-arid climate prone to wildfires, we keep a tub of important papers, heirloom photographs, and other personal items ready during fire season. I have several of my favorite guns (don’t tell the other ones) ready to go as well. Our dog food is stored in a portable bin and my go bag is kept in my vehicle. Seriously, don’t tell the guns in the main safe why the others get moved out for a few months each year. Everything else is why they invented insurance.
@John150 Out of the blue this summer when I was managing a construction project my MIL showed up with a “Personal Refrigerator” it runs off 12V DC (plug it into your car) or 120V AC (House power). It hold exactly a 6 pack of 12oz canned beverages. I have not fully tested it to see how much it draws from a car battery but I would keep my normal “Jump Pack” fully charged just in case it killed the battery. Alternatively you could plug it into the jump pack. Worth looking into in your situation.
Do you know if there are any sources of information about what kinds of chemicals are stored in your area. Something like XYZ company has a chlorine tank locate 5 miles from your_town? Seems like this info would not only help you figure out what you had to prepare for, but also tell you what direction to evacuate in.
Your best bet would be to talk to your local first responders, Fire, EMS, LEO’s. Where I am that’s not something I have to worry about, but your local first responders should have some idea of what to look out for/emergency preparedness plans for such things.
Thanks