EXPLOSION AT CHEMICAL PLANT CLAIMS FOUR LIVES
Adela Morris
Canine Forensic Handler
Institute for Canine Forensics
On Wednesday, January 7th, 1998 at 7:55 AM two explosions destroyed the Sierra Chemical Co. Manufacturing plant in Nevada. Six workers were injured and four were missing.
This search started as a request for USAR (urban search and rescue) dog teams with cadaver experience, specifically requesting teams that had responded to the Oklahoma Explosion. At first it was not known if survivors were possible, and having dogs that could detect both live and dead victims was thought to be the best resource. As more information was obtained and teams could access the area, it became clear that it was not possible that anyone could have survived. The site was considered unsafe for the first 2 days; some areas were still burning and small explosions were observed.
On Thursday the 9th, Washoe County Search and Rescue canine handlers joined the USAR handlers and attended the morning briefing and planning session of the Unified Command. Before and after photos of the site and building floor plans were shown. A more detailed meeting for canine teams was called so plans could be made. It was at this meeting, after seeing the amount of actual rubble searching that would be required and the size of the areas that needed "fine searching", that it became apparent more forensic canine teams were needed. The request was for experienced handlers with dogs that had burned flesh/bone experience and dogs that could work in a controlled manner under stressful conditions. They wanted an 80% POD (Probability of Detection) of a very large area. These teams were requested through the Nevada Emergency Management Office to the California Office of Emergency Services.
This incident in many ways was like Oklahoma, in that it was considered a crime scene. There were many agencies involved. The incident was managed under a Unified Command, as provided by the ICS system, with ATF taking the lead role. Some of the agencies involved were; ATF Investigators, ATF Bomb technicians, local bomb squads, Forensic Technicians (local, state and Federal), various Crime Lab personnel, Environmental Agencies, Public Health, OSHA, Hazardous Materials teams, Fire Department, Army, Washoe County Sheriffs Office, Washoe Co. Search and Rescue, local police, WOOF and CARDA.
Each day
began very early. We had to check in at command post at 6:30 am. This meant
getting up early enough to let the dog out, get breakfast for both dog and
handler, drive the 20 minutes to get to the site, go through the first check
point, and then report to the command post. We would then be escorted to the
next checkpoint, the inner command post in the support zone.
We attended the daily briefing, got dressed in Tyvek suits and were ready
to begin searching at 8 am. At noon we would break for lunch which, meant
returning to the support zone by way of the decon station where both dog and
handler where decontaminated. This process was accomplished by a fireman/Hazmat
technician, that would manage and wash your dog, and then lead the dog to
an area in the support zone where the dog would have to wait on a down for
the handler to go through the decontamination process. We would wait for an
available technician to help us (you found out very fast that it's hard to
get all this off by your self). The first step of decon was to remove duct
tape and outer gloves. We would sit in a chair that was marked " hot"
(meaning is was inside the exclusion zone and contaminated); then stand up
for the removal of the Tyvek suit and boots; then we would step over into
a cleaner area and lastly, remove our inner gloves. We would then sit in another
chair and put on clean boots.
After lunch we would have a meeting; review the progress, problems, or change of plans; go through the process of getting dressed in the Tyvek suits again and return to the search site. At the end of each day we were responsible for making a search report for that days effort, to be collected by the overhead to become part of the permanent record. We would then return to our hotel room where the first order of business was to completely wash our dogs with shampoo, then we would take a shower. By this time it was all we could do to stay awake to eat dinner.
At dinner we tried to get as many handlers as possible together and talk about the days events, things we learned, things we wanted to improve or how we felt about what we were doing.
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on photo for larger view
SAFETY
Safety was the number one concern for this incident. One of the first
priorities the Hazmat teams were faced with was to find out what chemicals
were housed at the plant. Many of the chemicals were safe by themselves but
could become reactive if mixed with other chemicals or water. The first Hazmat
teams and bomb technicians to enter into the Exclusion (or Hot) zone were
in level A protective clothing which is a totally-encapsulating vapor tight
chemical suit with SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus). They observed
the small explosions and fires that were still taking place and they determined
that it was not safe to enter or search the exclusion zone.
Most of the small explosions had stopped by the fourth day after the initial event. The Hazmat team then determined that SCBA and level A protection was not needed. The call was made for a level C protective clothing with out SCBA. The Hazmat and Bomb teams also gave their report of hazards and conditions they had found. Primary hazards were, chemicals, detonation cord, blasting caps, dynamite, leaking drums of chemicals, diesel fuel, sharp metal from the explosion and rubble. The first few days after the explosion the bomb technicians spent their time locating and collecting filled dynamite containers, detonation cord and blasting caps.
A great amount of time was spent briefing all entry teams on the hazards. Pictures and examples of chemicals were shown and we were briefed on what to do if we encountered them. A bomb technician escorted all teams entering the exclusion zone.
Understanding Hazmat procedures was very important. Having a variety of equipment and the correct equipment was essential. Equipment included; helmet with a chin strap, steel toe & shank boots, and a variety of clothing to cover the temperature range we encountered. The Tyvek suits, gloves, foot ware was provided for us by the fire department. The first day of the search, handlers were advised not to take or wear anything into the search area that they were not prepared to dispose of into the garbage. We were not allowed to have radios, cameras with a flash, pagers, or metal probes because of the danger of explosives. As more information was obtained they did relax some of the requirements. They did reluctantly relax their boot requirement on the last day and let us search in our hiking boots as long as the boots were decontaminated when leaving the exclusion zone. This was the day we did the surrounding mountains and were not in the main explosion area. We were concerned about the loose rock type soil and steep terrain we were going to search and felt that rubber boots or boot covers were not stable for this kind of work. Each day we searched (except for the last day) we were required to wear Tyvek suits, protective coverings over our boots, or rubber boots and our hands were double gloved.
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on photo for larger view
STRESS
Stress was another big concern. As handlers, we felt stress from many
sources. The first two days were a hurry up and wait situation, not
knowing if we would be able to search. We were worried about the unknown danger
we were possibly putting our dogs into. We had not been able to see the search
area so it was hard to make search assignments.
It was evident that our dogs were also under stress. Most of the time we searched small areas, very close to each other. It was necessary to keep very close watch on our dogs to make sure they did not walk in or smell the wrong chemicals. Most known dangerous chemicals had been flagged off. We were constantly calling the dogs back, because they would start to follow their nose and cross over to other search areas or to an area with hazardous chemical in it. Many times our dogs would search around the feet of the people who were working in the same site. We might have a dozen or more people standing in our search area, each doing their job. The dogs had to work with that distraction as well as heavy equipment working in the same search site. Breaks, free running time, and playtime were effective ways to relieve stress in our dogs.
THE
SPECIAL ABILITIES OF THE CANINE
Our efforts were rewarded by our dog's ability to find many small fragments
of bone and tissue. Visually, to us humans, these fragments looked just like
all the other surrounding burned material.
The forensic lab technicians were impressed by the amount of human remains that were collected and let us know that the only way the fragments could have been collected was by our dogs locating them.
On Saturday
the 11th, the Sheriff's office in their daily conference with the family members
told the families that only small fragments were being found, but they felt
they had enough to do DNA testing so positive identification could be made.
It was a very sad situation but as dog handlers we felt we had helped in a
small way to bring closure to the families and friends of the victims.
DNA testing was conducted after the search was over and all victims were identified
and accounted for from the fragments the dogs located.
DANGER
AND RISK TO THE DOG
No protocol has been set up on how to decontaminate our working dogs.
After experiences like the Oklahoma bombing and the Nevada Chemical company
explosion, we are putting together guidelines and working on protocols. It
is evident that our working dogs will encounter other Hazmat conditions. A
Hazmat event can occur any place. The chemicals in your own home can produce
death or great harm to both humans and canines. In the event of an earthquake,
every house, grocery and hardware store has the potential to be a Hazmat danger.
PRE-PLAN
Having a canine medical pre-plan is a must. Handlers must have a good
understanding of canine first aid and have a canine first aid kit with them.
You will be the first responder when your dog is injured. Keep a copy of your
dog's veterinary records in your deployment bag. Insist that the requesting
agency have either a veterinarian on site or one on call that can respond
to emergencies. When the hazardous materials are known, they should be discussed
with the veterinarian, so a pre-emergency plan can be made, drug/medications
or the proper equipment will be on hand if an emergency should occur. It is
important for each handler to understand how the hazardous materials can effect
the dog; by absorption, direct contact, inhalation, or ingestion.
Many of us, after the Nevada search, on the recommendation of the veterinary
on site took our dogs to our own vets for an exam and blood tests to check
levels for toxic chemicals in the liver. Now part of my dog's medical history
is all the chemicals she could have been exposed to on the Nevada search.
We should never put our dog or ourselves in a situation of unnecessary health risk. We must understand as much as possible about what hazards we are encountering. This means we must rely on other experts, and be prepared for the conditions. Plan and expect the unexpected. Training in Hazmat is a must along with training for the conditions you might encounter.
TRAINING
TO REDUCE THE RISK
Many people ask about safety and danger to the dog. This is always a concern
to us. Our canine partner is very important to us and we want to protect them.
While working we should always be thinking safety first. Obedience, agility,
and the training area we use are all things that help to make the dog become
a confidant, safe worker. Training on rubble is necessary if you want to work
in that environment. You can't ask the dog to work in an environment that
they have never trained in. This becomes apparent when watching a dog work
a rubble pile for the first few times. They may be very agile, but it takes
all their concentration just to walk on the uneven surface and they are unclear
how to let you know that they have found a scent source in the rubble. Expose
your dog to everything you can imagine. Don't ask your dog to do something
it has not been trained for.
Know your dog's limitations, know your own limitations, and know when to let another team search an area that is beyond your experience or capabilities. Know how to read your dog. When the dog is stressed from exhaustion or has gone beyond its comfort level, the dog may look like it is working but is only going through the motions. You, the handler, think that your dog has covered an area and not found anything, but the truth is the dog may have been too stressed to look for scent. This is also one reason in high probability areas that we always work more than one dog.
The next step in safety is with the handler. The handler must have training in the same areas that you expect you might search in. When working hazardous areas you must have all your attention on what you are doing. Watching your dog work is very important. On our Nevada search not only did we watch our dogs very closely but we also had an observer that went with us at all times to watch the dog. When our dogs came upon one of the many hazards we would redirect them in another direction or call them to us. This added a lot of frustration and stress for our dogs. They felt like we were micro-managing them (we were) and we would knowingly call them off scent. By the end of 4 days we could see the effects on our dogs. Fortunately on the 5th day we searched the outer areas away from the building and rubble areas. This gave the dogs lots of freedom to range and search more on their own terms.
A team is not effective once they have reached the exhaustion stage or are stressed to the point of not being able to concentrate on the job at hand. Remember that you are a team and you are expected to help your partner, if needed, to go over difficult terrain or objects, either physically or verbally. Know when you or your dog has had enough. Saving lives is important, locating deceased humans and evidence is also important to family and friends, but not if it costs the life or health of you or your canine.
The most commonly asked question is "Why don't you put boots on the dog?" This sounds like a reasonable idea, but in fact it may be the wrong thing to do. My experience in working fires, many with still burning coals, I have only seen one dog get a few hairs singed. Why? Because their feet are so sensitive they know where to place them. If you cover them up with boots, they can no longer tell where it's safe to place them. The material of the boot can catch on fire trapping the dog's foot. Boots take away the surefootedness and confidence they need in agility because they have lost some of the feeling in their feet. Also in Hazmat conditions the boots would have to be discarded after being exposed. One of the dogs working in Nevada walked into an unknown chemical and it was apparent very quickly that the chemical was burning the feet. The handler and a helper immediately flushed the feet with water and no damage was done to the feet. Do I carry boots for my dog? Yes - they work when a foot has been injured and needs protection, but most of the time I prefer to use bandaging material because I can change it when it gets dirty.
There were many hazards and risks I have not addressed in this article. I did not talk about danger from explosives; I am not even knowledgeable about them. We relied on the expertise of our bomb technician teams. Another danger we faced was when the wind would pick up in the afternoon it would send platter-sized pieces of sheet metal flying through the air. ***When this happened it was very dangerous and we got out of the field very fast. On a lighter side, probably the funniest hazard we had was a herd of tumbleweeds that chased after my dog when she was on a down stay. We could see them heading our way from some distance; they seemed to have a mind of their own, and each way my dog tried to get out of the way they would follow her. We thought it was pretty funny, but she did not. It just doesn't look right for a Border Collie to be herded by tumbleweeds. Who would have thought that tumbleweeds could be so aggressive?
SUMMARY
The need for dogs trained in forensics is becoming more apparent and more
widely used. Because of their ability to discriminate between scents they
make a very valuable search tool. There was a pet dog that was killed in the
explosion. Our search dogs found the remains but did not alert on them. Our
regular training's using animal remains as a negative has really paid off.
The need for more handlers training has also become apparent. Training in Hazmat, canine first aid and training in the environment you plan to respond to should be added to training curriculum for teams responding to forensic, disaster type of searches. We must assume responsibility for our canine partner, be prepared to handle emergencies, medical and Hazmat. I now take my canine Decon kit with me whenever I respond to a search call out. I have included the canine kit content and information paper.
KEY TERMS /GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Hazmat= Hazardous Materials
Decon= Decontamination
Exclusion zone, Hot zone, Red zone = Area of isolation where the spill or Hazmat is located; only responders with proper level of protective equipment are allowed.
Contamination reduction zone, warm zone, yellow zone = This is the zone between the exclusion zone and support zone. Transition between contaminated area and clean area.
Support zone, cold zone, green zone = Safe area no protective clothing is needed, usually where the command post is located.
USAR= Urban Search and Rescue
ICS= Incident Command System
CARDA= California Rescue Dog Association
WOOF= Wilderness Finders
ATF= Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms
OES= California Office of Emergency Services
SCBA= Self contained breathing apparatus
Canine Decontamination Kit