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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of Duluth - Fire Department
602 West Second Street • Duluth, Minnesota 55802
218-730-4400 •www.duluthmn.gov
For more information contact Kelli Latuska,
Public Information Officer at 218-730-5309
DATE: 11/29/2023
SUBJECT: Duluth Fire Department responds to mutual aid chlorine gas call at hotel in Proctor
BY: Kelli Latuska, Public Information Officer

NATURE OF INCIDENT:
CASE NO.:
INCIDENT DATE:
INCIDENT TIME:
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Duluth Fire Department responds to mutual aid chlorine gas call at hotel in Proctor

 

[DULUTH, MN] On Wednesday, November 29 at 11:09 AM, Saint Louis County 911 dispatched the Proctor Fire Department to a call of a chlorine gas issue at the Americinn located at 185 Hwy 2 in Proctor. Upon arriving, Proctor Fire’s Ladder 1 and Truck 5 discerned the leak originated from the apparent mixing of cleaning chemicals in a drain, creating a chlorine gas influx. Duluth Fire Department’s 8 Quint and CAT 31 were dispatched to provide mutual aid to Proctor Fire in the incident.

 All hotel staff and guests were safely evacuated at the beginning of the incident. DFD and PFD together ventilated the building using positive pressure fans; over an hour, DFD and PFD measured air quality over the hour they ventilated the building, and while they never read out in the unsafe range, monitor readings went from 0.4 ppm at the highest chlorine concentration point to 0.0. The scene was cleared by 12:18 PM.

“We’re always grateful for our mutual aid partners at the Duluth Fire Department,” remarked Proctor Fire Chief Kerry Helquist. “Our communities are safer because of the partnership we maintain.”

The Duluth Fire Department is one of Minnesota’s eleven Hazardous Materials Response Teams.  Our team responds out of Duluth Fire Station #7 in a 40-foot rig named CAT-31.  While staffed with Duluth firefighters, the rig and all hazmat response equipment is provided by the State of Minnesota.  Hazmat response team duties include hazard assessment, technical assistance, and reasonable mitigation.  The State Fire Marshal’s Office coordinates special operations response teams including Hazardous Materials, Bomb Squads, Urban Search and Rescue, and the Minnesota Air Rescue Team.  

 

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