Module 9: Control Techniques - International Association of Fire ...

Student Text IAFF Training for Hazardous Materials: Technician©
Osceola, FL Fungicide Incident
The incident began on March 23 at 0300. A pickup truck crossed the centerline of State Road
192 about 40 miles east of Walt Disney World in rural Florida. The pickup ran head-on into a
westbound tractor-trailer truck. The accident resulted in a fire that destroyed both trucks and
killed the driver of the pickup. The tractor-trailer was not a typical box trailer, but an intermodal
box placed on the frame of a trailer. This is common in an area where ships import goods from
European and South American countries. This intermodal box was made of heavy gauge steel.
They are usually air and watertight.
When the Holopaw Fire Department unit arrived from approximately 2.5 miles away, the trucks
were heavily involved in fire, with flames impinging onto the intermodal trailer. The next unit
was 15 miles away responding from a neighboring community in Osceola County. Holopaw Fire
Department is a small, one station, volunteer department that is part of Osceola County Fire
Department. (Osceola County FD is a mixed paid/volunteer department.) The first fire apparatus
staged about 15 feet from the burning trucks and used the on-board tank to extinguish the fire.
After extinguishing the burning trucks, the trailer was opened to check for extension. A small
amount of smoke was noted toward the top of the trailer, so the response was upgraded to include
additional fire suppression units and Orange County’s Squad 1 (Orange County’s Haz Mat
Unit).
Referencing the chemical was immediately difficult because the shipping papers burned during
the initial truck fire. Furthermore, the trailer was placarded with Class 9, Miscellaneous placards,
displaying the DOT #1609, which did not appear in the NAERG. Within a short time, these
stick-on style plastic placards melted from the trailer and were no longer readable. However, the
tractor-trailer driver suffered only minor injuries during the crash, and was able to give the
responders the name of the shipper, who was eventually contacted by phone.
The shipper provided the name Diethane, which was later found to be an incorrect spelling.
Diethane could not be found in the reference sources, so that even after this initial contact, the
on-scene personnel did not have information to guide them during the incident. It was not until
the MSDS was faxed to their headquarters station and transported to the scene that good information
was at hand. The MSDS revealed the name Dithane DF Fungicide. The truck contained 772
bags of dry chemical on pallets, or 38,000 pounds of dithane. The chemical dithane is produced
in France and entered Florida at Port Everglades. Rohm Haas, the company importing the
chemical, manufactures the precursor chemicals for this compound, then brings the finished
product back to the U.S. for distribution. Because of the recent flooding in the state, the only
west-to-east road open across the state was SR 192. This was an unusual route for this material
to take, and an unfamiliar road to the driver.
By the time the data sheet arrived, the units on the scene had attempted extinguishment with
water. The water appeared to initially work, but each application was followed by freeburning
fire from the rear of the trailer. It was also noted that the drops of concentrated runoff created a
bubbling effect when dropped on the roadway. Later, AFFF foam was used with the same results.
Module 9: Control Techniques 9-103