hazardous materials

Groveland Public Safety Officials, Mass DEP Order Removal of Hazardous Materials

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Groveland Police Department
Jeffrey Gillen, Chief
Public Safety Building
181 Main St
Groveland, MA 01834Groveland Fire Department
Joe Santapaola, Interim Fire Chief
Public Safety Building
181 Main St
Groveland, MA 01834

For Immediate Release

Monday, Oct. 7, 2019

Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Groveland Public Safety Officials, Mass DEP Order Removal of Hazardous Materials

GROVELAND — Police Chief Jeffrey Gillen and Interim Fire Chief Joe Santapaola report that the property owner of 748 Salem St. has been ordered to properly dispose of chemicals that sparked a hazmat response last night.

Police and firefighters responded to Salem and Washington Streets at approximately 6:45 p.m. Sunday for a report of a gas leak, and first responders came upon the hazardous materials upon arrival, spurring public safety officials to launch a hazardous materials incident investigation. A Hazardous Materials Response Team from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services also responded to the scene.

Members of the Groveland Fire Department and National Grid investigated the reported gas leak at the same time as the unrelated hazardous materials response, and no gas leak was found.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Groveland Fire Department have ordered surfactants, chemicals that create suds such as detergents, on the property to be removed and disposed of at a chemical facility within 24 hours of the hazmat response. Members of the Groveland Fire Department will be visiting the property Monday afternoon to ensure those materials have been properly disposed of. The property owner has also been ordered to return containers of tetrahydrofuran, a flammable material, that although stored in a proper vessel, is not permitted to be stored in a residential setting, by the end of the week.

“With assistance from the Massachusetts DEP and a Hazardous Materials Response Team from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, we were able to resolve this situation swiftly,” Interim Fire Chief Santapaoloa said. “Teamwork and collaboration between state agencies and the Groveland Police and Fire Departments allowed for this investigation to proceed smoothly, and I’d like to thank everyone who helped investigate and respond.”

The Groveland Police and Fire Departments have determined that there was no threat or danger to the public as a result of the hazardous materials.

“We’d like to thank residents for their patience and cooperation as we responded to and investigated this situation,” Police Chief Gillen said. “Incidents involving hazardous materials are incredibly complex, and fortunately there was no danger to the public as a result of this situation.”

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Dedham Police and Fire Departments Respond after White Powder, Believed to be Fentanyl, Found at Library

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Dedham Police Department
Michael J. d’Entremont, Chief of Police
600 High St.
Dedham, MA 02026
Dedham Fire Department
William Spillane, Fire Chief
436 Washington St.
Dedham, MA 02026

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 978-865-4110
Email: [email protected]

Dedham Police and Fire Departments Respond after White Powder, Believed to be Fentanyl, Found at Library

Woman Charged with Drug Possession

DEDHAM — Police Chief Michael d’Entremont and Fire Chief William Spillane  report that a Tier One hazardous materials response was declared today at the Dedham Public Library after the discovery of a white powdery substance, believed to be narcotics.

Dedham Police responded to the library, located at 43 Church St., at 3:15 p.m. for a report of suspicious activity. Upon arrival, officers were informed that a woman had gone into the restroom and not come out for some time. When staff went to check the restroom, the woman ran out of the building, and a white powdery substance was left behind.

The Dedham Fire Department responded to the scene, and a hazmat incident was declared out of an abundance of caution. This sent state and municipal resources into Dedham to provide specialized assistance.

Minutes later, officers reported that stopped a vehicle on Church Street near the police station driven by a woman matching the description of the individual seen at the library. More white powder was observed in the vehicle and on the driver. The substance was field tested and believed to be heroin or Fentanyl or some combination of opioids. The driver, a 28-YEAR-OLD WESTWOOD WOMAN was taken into custody. A criminal complaint will be sought for her this week, charging her with:

  • Possession of a Class A Substance
  • Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended License
  • Providing a False Name to Law Enforcement

The white powder on the suspect and in the vehicle field tested positive for Fentanyl, but the powder in the library field tested negative. Additional tests will be performed on all the evidence collected.

The incident remains under investigation by the Dedham Police Department. The suspect will be arraigned at Dedham District Court at a later date.

No one was injured.

These are allegations all suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty.

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Rockland Fire Department Responds to Help School Dispose of Old Chemicals

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Rockland Fire Department
Chief Scott Duffey
360 Union St.,
Rockland, MA 02370

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Rockland Fire Department Responds to Help School Dispose of Science Classroom’s Old Chemicals

ROCKLAND — Chief Scott Duffey reports that the Rockland Fire Department responded to a local school after a teacher found an old jar of sodium while cleaning a cabinet in a science classroom at the North River Collaborative School Tuesday afternoon.

At approximately 12:30 p.m., Rockland Firefighters responded to the school, located at 525 Beech St., after receiving a call from a science teacher who was cleaning out his classroom to prepare for the upcoming school year. Upon arrival, firefighters located a cardboard box inside of a filing cabinet. Inside the box were multiple containers and jars containing a variety of leftover chemicals and substances from old science experiments. The Rockland Police Department also responded to assist.

Based on the appearance of the box and jars, administrators concluded that the chemicals were several years old and likely had been there for years or decades.

School was not in session at the time and there was no immediate threat to the public.

A two-pound jar of sodium was determined to be a potential safety hazard and a Tier 1 Hazardous Materials Response (lowest tier) was triggered. A regional hazardous materials response team was called to investigate.

The HazMat crew subsequently determined that the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad should be notified. The bomb squad came to the school and took the sodium to the Rockland recycling center where it was rendered safe.

None of the materials had leaked or spilled inside the box and would not necessarily have posed a threat if left undisturbed. Out of an abundance of caution, the other chemicals in the box will be safely disposed of by a private company hired by the school.

“HazMat teams exist to provide for the safest possible mitigation of unwanted substances and chemicals. They are the professionals, and I want to acknowledge the faculty and administration of the North River Collaborative for making the correct call and notifying the fire department about these chemicals,” Chief Duffey said. “While a regional response brings a lot of vehicles and personnel to a location, today’s operation was conducted in an orderly and efficient manner.”

No one was hurt during today’s response.

North River Collaborative (NRC) is an educational organization formed in 1976 to serve the school districts of Abington, Avon, Bridgewater-Raynham, East Bridgewater, Hanover, Rockland, Stoughton, West Bridgewater and Whitman-Hanson and has a board of directors comprised of members elected from each member district’s school committee. The school provides programs to more than 200 students with disabilities from ages 3 to 22 from the member districts and surrounding communities.The Collaborative also provides specialized services including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy to more than 800 students in those communities.

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Raynham Tier 2 Hazardous Materials Incident Cleared

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Raynham Fire Department
Chief James T. Januse
37 Orchard St.,
Raynham, MA 02767

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Raynham Tier 2 Hazardous Materials Incident Cleared

RAYNHAM — Chief James T. Januse reports that the Raynham Fire Department has cleared the scene of a Tier 2 hazardous materials incident that occurred at a business in town earlier today.

At approximately 11 a.m., the Raynham Fire Department was alerted to a potentially hazardous chemical reaction involving nitric acid at Medrobotics, 475 Paramount Drive, in the Raynham Woods Commerce industrial park. The business is a medical robotics company.

Everyone inside the building was quickly evacuated and no injuries were reported.

When firefighters arrived, they noticed that a cloud had formed in an area where chemicals were being used inside of a lab room. 

A Tier 1 HazMat response was triggered, and a state hazardous materials response team was called to investigate. The incident was later elevated to a Tier 2 response, which is classified as a short-term operation.

The HazMat team was able to safely mitigate the incident by ventilating the building and removing materials that were used when the reaction occurred.

As of 3:15 p.m., the HazMat crew had cleared the scene and the building was turned back over to its owner. A specialized clean up crew was brought in to clean the lab room.

The incident was isolated to the lab room and at no time was the general public at risk.

The incident occurred during a routine procedure and the cause of the reaction is under investigation.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified of the incident.

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