Video was released Tuesday of a faulty fire suppression system releasing around 800 gallons of chemical foam on a Vermont National Guard base, multiple outlets reported.
The video, tweeted out by Breaking Aviation News & Videos, showed torrents of foam falling out from the ceiling of the national guard hanger in South Burlington.(RELATED: Man Awarded Six-Figure Payout After Being Arrested For Flipping Off Cop)
Malfunctioning fire suppression system has led to the release of hundreds of gallons of fire-fighting foam at the Vermont National Guard base in South Burlington. pic.twitter.com/JERORp2INh
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) June 25, 2024
The video depicted the hanger, where helicopters were stored, filled up with the chemical foam as an alarm blasted in the background. The system accidentally released hundreds of gallons of concentrated aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), Forces Net reported. AFFF is used for fires emanating from flammable liquids like jet fuel, Vermont Public reported.
“It looked like a white bubble bath,” water quality superintendent Bob Fischer said, according to the outlet. The National Guard estimated that around 150 gallons of the foam entered South Burlington’s wastewater system from the accident, the outlet reported.
“We realized that the risk to the environment was pretty significant, and we did not want a chance having either a purposeful or accidental release,” Col. Jacob Roy, Vermont National Guard’s construction and facility management officer, said. The Vermont National Guard worked alongside other agencies to manage and contain the spill, Forces Net reported.
National Guard contractors have been cleaning and testing daily the facility itself, the sewer lines, the pump station, and the wastewater treatment plant, according to Vermont Public. They also tested the waters from the nearby Winooski River for contamination, the outlet reported. “It’s good for perspective purposes to appreciate that on a normal day in the Winooski River, the river has a flow rate of about 5,000 gallons per second,” Matt Chapman, the director of Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation Waste Management and Prevention Division, told the outlet.
