MEXICO, Maine — Five people were evaluated for exposure to dry chemicals Friday morning after a fire-suppressant system malfunctioned at the Mexico Food Trend/Circle K Shell station.
Nozzles over the pumps in the fuel-station canopy blasted out a huge cloud at 10:15 a.m. that enveloped people and vehicles with ANSUL PLUS-FIFTY C, fire and Med-Care Ambulance officials said.
It is a sodium bicarbonate-based dry chemical agent with chemical additives that can cause skin and eye irritation, said Chris Moretto, Med-Care assistant chief. But none of the people exposed had any symptoms, he said.
“There was no fire or anything that set it off,” Mexico fire Chief Gary Wentzell said. “I guess it was just a malfunction.”
The store manager declined to comment.
A Ford Ranger pickup, a Dodge Grand Caravan Sport minivan and a Dodge Neon were blanketed in white powder.
Other vehicles parked at the convenience store or nearby had powder on and inside them. The powder also covered a large area under the station canopy and the eastbound lane of U.S. Route 2 beside the station.
For people caught in the cloud, it was a frightening experience, initially touching off fears that fuel was on fire or that the suppressant powder was toxic. They described it as smoke.
Silas Sherry of Andover, who had just swiped his credit card at the pump and was about to fuel up his minivan, said he thought there was a fire.
“I thought the thing was going to blow,” Sherry said.
“I put my card in, I took my card out, I got the gas hose, and then it dumped on us, and I ran and left the gas hose down,” he said. “There was an enormous cloud of smoke that must have been 50 feet in diameter. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”
One woman, who didn’t want to be identified, said she stopped for fuel and to put air in her tires.
“The smoke just rained down, and then you couldn’t see anything,” she said. “The smoke came everywhere. You had to get out of it, because it was hard to breathe.”
Wentzell said it wasn’t a big deal, “but a couple of people were very upset when we first got here, which is understandable.”
One person has asthma and breathed in some powder, and he worried that the chemicals might cause an asthma attack, the chief said.
Firefighters shut down the station to incoming vehicles and cordoned it off until a cleaning crew could arrive. No gas could be pumped until the fire-suppressant system was recharged, Wentzell said.
To help allay fears of toxic-chemical exposure, Med-Care had specification sheets faxed in from ANSUL Inc. on the suppressant, and showed them to people caught in the powder dump.
Firefighters dusted off people and vehicles, then drove the vehicles to the local car wash to clean and return them. Sherry was taken to the fire station to shower.
A Mexico firefighter gave the family with children a ride to their cleaned car in a fire truck to help calm them down.
I’ve never heard of this, until this year. Now this is the 2nd time. What’s up?
Sounds like the proper inspection and maintaining is not being done in a timely manner.
Better you know it work’s when it’s not needed than to need it and find out that it’s useless. And the Mexico Fire Dept’s giving the kid’s a ride, well, good for you folk’s. Public safety needs to show a sense of humor every so often. And the car wash was a nice touch. Someone’s showing a sense of reality, and business sense. And that’s called customer service.
Heartburn and acid indigestion from the
Food Trend/Circle K
Circle K does not comment on anything that happens at there stores. Canadian based what do you expect
What an insipid comment.
And your telling me your comments are better, NOT
Correct or incorrect, I at least attempt to put thought into them.
Those damned Canadians, not offering official statements to non-events.
PS you’re use of “not” was groddy to the MAX!
Fer sher, totally.
You tell me a time that a canadian based company has commented on anything that happened in the news, regarding a fire or robbery. Find one story that i missed and ill give you fifty bucks
I’m actually not going to spend time doing that, because I know you don’t have the $50.
You can keep doing your smart mouth comments. I guarantee i have more money than you do and always will. I work for a living compared to most people on here that set home all day
And you are just afraid that you will lose simply because its true. Peace out son
“KUDOS” to The Mexico Fire Department. They certainly went above and beyond the expectations of this reader. “Gotta love it”
This happened at the Big Apple on state street last year.
“Five people were evaluated for exposure to dry chemicals Friday morning
after a fire-suppressant system malfunctioned at the Mexico Food
Trend/Circle K Shell station.”
ITS BAKING SODA FOR @#$&!s SAKE
“…sodium bicarbonate-based dry chemical agent with chemical additives that can cause skin and eye irritation…”
If you had asthma, or CPOD, or another problem, you would not be so flippant.
Do you know what the other “chemical additives” are?
Until then, a bit of sympathy. Baking soda might be an issue, especially in quantity, or when sprayed.
Water is dangerous when misused. You need it to stay alive, but if you fill a bucket and insert head for 3+ minutes…
The ‘chemical additive’s’ mentioned is cornstarch that’s added to the sodium bi-carb’ mix to prevent the bi-carb’ mixture from caking from long-term sitting in their tank’s or line’s. Bi-carb has a very nasty habit of caking and clogging up the line’s and nozzle’s when it’s either not agitated periodically or is allowed to sit and ‘settle’ into a solid ‘clump’ the the tank. Cornstarch keeps that from happening. Messy, but in the long run, very effective and cost efficient.
And as far as COPD goes, that’s why the doctor’s all call for a hand nebulizer to be kept on hand AT ALL TIMES and your med’s to be kept up to date. With COPD, the patient has 6 minutes from respritory arrest until your dead to use their nebulizer. 6 minutes is not a lot of time when bad happen’s. And that’s the real lesson here !
Good to know that it is cornstarch, hopefully no one who was exposed was allergic to what is “usually” a benign food substance. Thanks for the info, Mike. I will bring flour and shortening to the gas station next time….;)
You’re absolutely right. My heart goes out to all those people affected by being hosed down w/ muffin ingredients.
It is a sodium bicarbonate-based dry chemical agent with chemical
additives that can cause skin and eye irritation, said Chris Moretto,
Med-Care assistant chief.
Apparently, your reading skills are not as adept as your attempts at profanity.
Cute attempt :)
Meh, who stops in Mexico for gas anyways? I never do because of that awful STINK.
Not too much further to Bethel or Dixfield. Srsly.
(Actually, we thought it was a gigantic chicken factory & the smell was chicken sh!t for a while)
To help allay fears of toxic-chemical exposure, Med-Care had specification sheets faxed in from ANSUL Inc. on the suppressant, and showed them to people caught in the powder dump.
No MSDS available on site?