City of Vail reports hazardous materials incident on Meadow Drive near Dobson Ice Arena

The City of Vail recently issued the following press release regarding a hazardous materials incident on Meadow Drive near the Dobson Ice Arena:

On September 13th at approximately 4 p.m., the Vail Fire Department was called to a burning garbage truck in the turnaround area west of the Dobson Ice Arena. When crews arrived, they found the driver had begun dumping the load of garbage in the turnaround area in an attempt to save the truck. When firefighters used water, crews quickly realized it was in response to the burning garbage. The situation was upgraded to a hazardous materials incident and crews from the Eagle River Fire Protection District brought the county's hazmat vehicle to the scene.

It was discovered that an unknown number of 5-gallon buckets of chlorine granules had been improperly dumped into the garbage. As the garbage truck driver attempted to compact the garbage in the truck, an exothermic reaction occurred between the combustible materials and the chlorine buckets and the fire ignited. A passerby noticed the flames and notified the driver.

A portion of Meadow Drive was closed for approximately 6 hours. Two firefighters were taken to the emergency room for fumes inhalation, but have since been released and are back on duty.

A crew was called to use a vacuum truck to clean out nearby sewers. However, it was discovered that some of the chlorine-contaminated runoff had entered Gore Creek, and Vail's Sustainability Department found at least seven dead juvenile fish lying in close proximity to the drain. Recently installed stormwater catchers or gutters prevented the incident from getting worse. The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, Eagle River Water & Sanitation District, and Colorado Parks & Wildlife were all notified.

Cleanup continued into Saturday morning, and Vail Police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Vail Police at 970-479-2201.

Click here for more information