Ottawa hazmat team called to chemical spill at Brockville 3M facility

Ottawa Fire Services' (OFS) hazmat team is on the scene of the chemical spill at 3M in Brockville.

Brockville fire officials say the call came in around 9:44 a.m. after a 3M employee activated an alarm due to the smell of an unknown odour.

“We don’t know as yet was the source of the odour, but it does appears to have dissipated,” says Brockville fire.

Officials say 3M staff did an excellent job in evacuating the site and ensuring that everyone was accounted for.

One neighbouring business, which was downwind, was also evacuated in an abundance of caution.

The Ontario Fore Marshal's Office (OFM) says two people suffered minor injuries

The leak appears to have been contained to the building so there was no risk to the public. 

Ottawa fire teams were called shortly after 11 a.m. by the OFM to support as part of a provincial response to the incident.  

Ottawa is one of three Level 3 (Technician) level hazmat teams that operate under the OFM program. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has standards (NFPA 472) for firefighter training including for Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, Nuclear, and Explosive (Hazmat) incidents. The three levels are Awareness, Operations, and Technician levels.  Ottawa Fire Services, along with Toronto and Windsor, include specialized teams with the highest “Technician” level training.